Marsha Linehan

"The goal of distress tolerance skills is to survive crises and stay alive, not to solve problems."

"Acceptance and change are two sides of the same coin."

"You can't hate yourself into a version of yourself you love."

"Mindfulness is the act of intentionally focusing your attention on the present moment without judgment."

"Pain is inevitable, but suffering is optional."

"Validation doesn't mean agreeing with someone. It means communicating that their experience makes sense."

"We need to make radical changes in how we support people with mental health challenges."

"Dialectics teach us that opposites can both be true at the same time."

"The most important skill is learning to observe your thoughts without being controlled by them."

"Relationships require the balance between acceptance and change."

"You cannot be a change agent without accepting people as they are."

"Emotion regulation is about becoming aware of your emotions, then deciding how to act on them."

"In order to have a life worth living, you have to build a life worth living."

"Cognitive therapy helps people see that their thoughts are not facts."

"If you want to change, you have to practice the behavior you want to become."

"Judgment gets in the way of acceptance and healing."

"The radical acceptance of reality is the first step toward change."

"Our treatment must touch the heart and the mind."

"Self-harm is often a coping mechanism for unbearable emotional pain."

"Behavior change comes from practice, not insight alone."

"We must balance acceptance with change in all relationships."

"Mindfulness means paying attention to what is happening right now."

"People are doing the best they can with the skills they have."

"Validation is not the same as approval."

"Distress tolerance means having tools to cope when you cannot change the situation."

"The therapist must meet clients where they are, not where we wish they were."

"Commitment is the bridge between intent and action."

"You must be willing to do what is hard in order to get what you want."

"Reality is dialectical: both this and that can be true."

"The goal of treatment is a life worth living."