Sports Psychology Through a DBT Lens: A Path to Resilience, Flow, and Performance

By Daniella Besirovic M.A.C.P; Registered Provisional Psychologist

Key Points: Why DBT Matters for Athletes 

● Athletic performance is as mental as physical: Pressure, anxiety, mistakes, and team dynamics challenge athletes just as much as training.

● DBT offers a practical edge: Originally for emotional regulation, DBT equips athletes with skills to stay focused, resilient, and confident under pressure. 

● Four core DBT skills translate to sport: 

○ Mindfulness → stay present and recover quickly from errors 

○ Distress Tolerance → handle setbacks without spiraling 

○ Emotion Regulation → manage nerves and frustration effectively 

○ Interpersonal Effectiveness → communicate clearly with coaches and teammates

● Proven benefits: Early research and case examples show athletes using DBT skills reduce pre-game anxiety, maintain confidence, and improve team communication.

● Why it’s relevant: DBT bridges mental and physical performance, helping athletes thrive not just in competition but in relationships, teamwork, and overall well-being.

Source: Generated by Gemini AI 

Athletes are no strangers to pressure. From the quiet tension before a starting whistle to the intense spotlight of high‑stakes competition, managing thoughts, emotions, relationships, and performance expectations can be as challenging as physical training. While traditional sports psychology has long incorporated techniques such as visualization and goal setting, Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT) offers a uniquely powerful framework for helping athletes thrive both on and off the field. 

Originally developed by Marsha Linehan for treating emotional dysregulation and borderline personality disorder (Linehan, 2015), DBT has since proven adaptable and effective for diverse populations — including athletes striving for peak performance under pressure. At its core, DBT blends acceptance and change, teaching skills that foster resilience, focus, connection, and emotional agility. 

In this article, we explore how DBT principles enhance traditional sports psychology practices, empowering athletes to perform with psychological strength that matches their physical capability. 

What is DBT — In Athlete Terms? 

Dialectical Behaviour Therapy is built around four core skills modules: 

• Mindfulness — being present with awareness, without judgment. 

• Distress Tolerance — surviving crisis moments without making them worse.

• Emotion Regulation — understanding and managing emotions effectively.

• Interpersonal Effectiveness — navigating relationships with clarity and confidence. 

In sport, these skills help athletes stay grounded, cope with setbacks, regulate pre‑game nerves, communicate constructively with coaches and teammates, and respond adaptively to performance fluctuations. 

OpenAI (2024) states that while DBT was not originally designed for athletics, its emphasis on skill acquisition, behavioural change, and emotional balance dovetails naturally with the mental demands of competitive sport. 

Why DBT Matters in Athletic Performance 

Athletes — whether elite competitors, weekend warriors, or aspiring young players — face psychological hurdles that can undermine performance if unmanaged: 

• Anxiety and catastrophic thinking (“What if I choke?”) 

• Frustration and self‑criticism after mistakes 

• Interpersonal tension with coaches, teammates, or family 

• Burnout, identity struggles, and performance plateaus 

Traditional sports psychology tools are powerful and useful, yet DBT adds depth by:

✔ Addressing emotional processes underlying performance barriers 

✔ Teaching moment‑to‑moment skills that athletes can use under stress

✔ Strengthening self‑regulation and relational confidence 

In short, DBT helps athletes balance acceptance of where they are with purposeful steps toward where they want to go — an essential dialectic in sport. 

Core DBT Skills for Athletes

1. Mindfulness — The Foundation of Flow 

Mindfulness isn’t about emptying the mind; it’s about noticing — a crucial distinction for athletes. DBT mindfulness trains athletes to: 

• Observe thoughts (“I’m scared of failing”) without acting on them 

• Describe internal experiences accurately 

• Participate fully in the present moment 

Mindfulness supports the elusive “flow state” by reducing distractions from past performances or future worries. Practices can be as simple as: 

• Focused breathing before competition 

• Body scan before sleep 

• Mindful warm‑ups that ground attention in the present 

In performance contexts, athletes who can bring mindful awareness into play often show: 

• Faster recovery from mistakes 

• Greater consistency under pressure 

• Stronger focus in high‑arousal situations 

2. Distress Tolerance — Staying Steady Under Fire 

Sport is rife with distressing moments: an unexpected foul, an injury setback, a lost match, or critical self‑talk that spirals. 

DBT distress tolerance skills offer cold‑weather tools for survival — ways to endure challenging moments without impulsive reactions that make situations worse. 

Key strategies include: 

• STOP: Stop – Take a breath – Observe – Proceed mindfully 

• Self‑soothing techniques: using senses to calm the nervous system

• Crisis survival strategies: distracting, grounding, reframing thoughts 

For example, an athlete who fouls early in a game might use STOP to interrupt self‑blame and return focus to the next play. These skills help athletes tolerate discomfort and stay in the game — mentally and emotionally. 

3. Emotion Regulation — Win the Inner Game 

Emotions are powerful engines of performance — when regulated — and barriers when unregulated.

DBT teaches athletes to: 

• Recognize emotional triggers (e.g., perfectionism, fear of judgment) 

• Name emotions accurately (“I’m frustrated” vs. “Something’s wrong”)

• Reduce emotional vulnerability (through balanced routines) 

• Build opposite actions (acting in ways that promote calmness or confidence) 

Rather than suppress emotions, DBT helps athletes understand their function and respond effectively — which may involve reappraising results, setting realistic expectations, or reframing pressure as focus energy (OpenAI, 2024). 

4. Interpersonal Effectiveness — Teamwork Under Pressure 

Sports are social at every level — coach‑athlete relationships, team dynamics, competitive rivalries, and external pressures from family or fans. 

DBT’s interpersonal skills help athletes: 

• Ask for support without guilt 

• Set boundaries with emotional clarity 

• Resolve conflict constructively 

• Maintain self‑respect under stress 

These skills are critical in team environments where communication breakdowns can disrupt performance. For individual athletes, interpersonal effectiveness supports sponsorship negotiations, coaching relationships, and personal confidence. 

DBT in Practice: What It Looks Like With Athletes

A DBT‑informed sports psychology intervention might include: 

• Weekly mindfulness exercises tailored to sport contexts 

• Distress tolerance rehearsal before competitions (simulating pressure scenarios)

• Emotion logs to track reactions to wins, losses, and training challenges

• Interpersonal role‑plays for navigating coach feedback 

DBT can be delivered individually or in group formats, making it versatile for: 

• One‑on‑one work with athletes 

• Team workshops 

• Integrated programs alongside physical training 

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Case illustrations show athletes reducing pre‑competition anxiety, retaining confidence after errors, and improving communication with coaching staff — all linked to DBT skill use (Jean-Bindley et al., 2025; Shi et al., 2024; Yu et al., 2024)

What Research and Practice Are Saying 

Though DBT’s application in sports psychology is relatively new compared with CBT or mindfulness alone, early evidence and expert observations suggest: 

• DBT supports emotional stability under competitive stress (Tamminen et al., 2015)

• Athletes using DBT skills report greater confidence and focus (Ferraro, 2023)

• Teams that integrate these skills show better communication and cohesion (Bedir et al., 2023) 

The integration of DBT with sports performance is a growing frontier — one that honors the complexity of athletic life: physical, emotional, and relational. 

The Athlete as Whole Person 

Peak performance isn’t just about strength, speed, or technique. It’s about how athletes think, feel, and relate under pressure. DBT bridges the inner and outer worlds of performance, emphasizing awareness, resilience, regulation, and connection. 

Whether you’re an elite competitor, a weekend player, or part of a team, incorporating DBT skills can help you: 

• Navigate pressure with clarity 

• Recover from setbacks with resilience 

• Communicate effectively under stress 

• Stay connected to purpose and joy in sport 

In the ever‑evolving landscape of sports psychology, DBT is not just a tool — it’s a mindset that empowers athletes to show up fully, thrive consistently, and perform with psychological as well as physical strength.

References 

Bedir, D., Agduman, F., Bedir, F. and Erhan, S.E. (2023). The mediator role of communication skill in the relationship between empathy, team cohesion, and competition performance in curlers. Frontiers in Psychology, 14, Article 1115402. 

Https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1115402 

Ferraro, J. P. (2023). Dialectical Behavior Therapy application efficacy in the world of an athlete: Addressing special considerations (Doctoral specialization project). Eastern Kentucky University. https://encompass.eku.edu/psych_doctorals/33 

Jean-Bindley, G., Sauriol-Gauthier, A., Corbin-Berrigan, L.-A., and Girard, S. (2025). Mental health in elite sports. A continuum of strategies that athletic trainers can use to support competitive athletes with psychological issues - a scoping review. Frontiers in Psychology, 16, Article 1619802. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2025.1619802 

Linehan, M. M. (2015). DBT® skills training manual (2nd ed.). Guilford Press. 

OpenAI. (2024). ChatGPT (GPT-4) [Large language model]. https://chat.openai.com/ 

Shi, L., Jing L, Wang, H. and Liu, Y. (2024). Exploring the association of mindfulness, confidence, competitive state anxiety, and attention control in soccer penalty shootouts. Frontiers in Psychology, 15, Article 1439654. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2024.1439654 

Tamminen, K. A., Bonk, D., Milne, M. J., & Watson, J. C. (2025). Emotion dysregulation, performance concerns, and mental health among Canadian athletes. Scientific reports, 15(1), Article 2962. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-86195-5 

Yu, M.G., Dou, G.B., and Gong, C. (2024) Effects of mindfulness intervention on competition state anxiety in sprinters—a randomized controlled trial. Frontiers in Psychology, 15, Article 1418094. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2024.1418094