Dialectical Behavior Therapy

DBT is a type of therapy that can be very helpful for people who struggle with intense emotions, difficulty in relationships, impulsive behaviors, and self-destructive patterns. If you're considering DBT as a prospective client, here's a simple explanation of what it entails:

DBT is based on the idea that we all have strengths and skills that can be developed to improve our lives. It combines two important elements: acceptance and change. DBT recognizes that acceptance of who we are right now is crucial, while also emphasizing the need for making positive changes to lead a more fulfilling life.

You'll work with a therapist who will guide and support you in learning new skills to manage difficult emotions, build healthier relationships, and make better choices in challenging situations. These skills are divided into four main areas:

Mindfulness: DBT emphasizes the practice of mindfulness, which involves being fully present and aware of the current moment. It helps you develop skills to observe your thoughts and emotions without judgment and to cultivate a sense of inner calm and self-awareness.

Distress Tolerance: This set of skills focuses on helping you tolerate and survive distressing situations without making impulsive or harmful decisions. You'll learn techniques to manage crisis situations, cope with intense emotions, and find healthier ways to handle stress.

Emotion Regulation: DBT helps you understand and regulate your emotions effectively. You'll learn strategies to identify and label your emotions, understand their causes, and learn healthy ways to cope with them. This includes learning how to reduce emotional vulnerability and increase positive emotional experiences.

Interpersonal Effectiveness: Building and maintaining healthy relationships is a significant aspect of DBT. You'll learn skills to improve communication, set boundaries, solve conflicts, and develop assertiveness, so you can have more satisfying and balanced relationships with others.

DBT is a collaborative process, and your therapist will work closely with you to tailor the treatment to your specific needs and goals. It requires dedication and practice, but many people find that DBT helps them build a more balanced, meaningful, and fulfilling life.

Many of us live our daily lives with a constant stream of uncontrollable negative emotions right under our awareness. These emotions affect how we feel about ourselves and how we interact with other people, including friends, romantic partners, and family members.

DBT essentially works with individuals to help them find ways to manage their negative emotions so they can feel balanced, in control, and able to interact respectfully and successfully. The message at the heart of DBT is acceptance and change.

While DBT was initially developed to treat those with borderline personality disorder, research has since shown that DBT can successfully treat people with depression, bipolar disorder, PTSD, eating disorders, and substance abuse. 

DBT treatment usually consists of a combination of DBT skills groups and individual therapy sessions. The individual therapy sessions allow you to have one-on-one contact with a trained therapist who will help you apply DBT skills to your daily life, address any obstacle that may arise, and keep you motivated! The DBT skills group interactions will help you practice skills with others and offer mutual support.

If you or someone you know may benefit from dialectic behavioral therapy, please get in touch with me. I would be happy to discuss how I may be able to help.

Association for Cognitive and Behavioral Therapy

TARA - BPD resources

We don’t know what we don’t know.  Increasing self awareness by mindfully tracking moods, vulnerabilities, nutrition, sleep, etc. is an essential part of DBT and mindfulness.  The key is to find one that works for you.  Below are few examples

DBT Wellness Planner

DBT Diary

Daylio App