Wise Mind

About this resource

Wise mind is the first concept taught in the DBT mindfulness module. Linehan describes three states of mind. In emotion mind, feelings drive thinking and behaviour; facts are distorted or ignored and action is impulsive. In reasonable mind, logic rules; the person is cool, task-focused and cut off from what they care about. Wise mind is the integration of the two: it draws on both emotion and reason and adds intuition, a sense of knowing what is right that goes deeper than either. Everyone has wise mind, but people with intense emotions often have difficulty reaching it when they most need it.

The concept gives clients a language for what happens when they are dysregulated and a destination to aim for. It is deliberately non-pathologising: emotion mind is not bad, and reasonable mind is not the goal. Both are necessary and both are incomplete. The skill is in noticing which state you are in and finding the way to the middle.

This handout describes the three states with concrete examples, explains why wise mind is hard to access when arousal is high, and gives five short practices for finding it. It ends with a reflection that helps the client identify their own signs of each state. It is suitable for adults and adolescents and is usually taught in the first or second mindfulness session.

The professional version includes discussion questions for skills group, guidance on the common objection that wise mind is 'just reasonable mind with a nicer name', and suggestions for linking wise mind to the client's own past decisions that turned out well.

How to use it

1. Introduce the three states with a diagram of two overlapping circles, with wise mind as the overlap. Ask the client for a recent example of each state from their own week.
2. Normalise emotion mind and reasonable mind. Ask what each is good for, so the client does not hear the model as 'feelings bad, logic good'.
3. Practise one of the wise mind exercises in session, for example the breath-and-question practice, and ask what came up. Do not press for a profound answer; a quiet sense of 'I am not sure yet' is a legitimate wise mind response.
4. Ask the client to notice, several times a day, which state they are in, and to record their personal signs of each on the reflection section.
5. Refer back to wise mind throughout treatment, particularly when the client is deciding whether to act on an urge. 'What does wise mind say?' becomes a shared shorthand.

References

• Linehan, M. M. (2015). DBT Skills Training Manual (2nd ed.). Guilford Press.
• Linehan, M. M. (1993). Cognitive-Behavioral Treatment of Borderline Personality Disorder. Guilford Press.
• Rathus, J. H., & Miller, A. L. (2015). DBT Skills Manual for Adolescents. Guilford Press.