Dialectical Behavior Therapy

What is DBT?

Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) is a behaviorally focused treatment that teaches you how to identify and change behaviors that are unhealthy or do not serve you. This is achieved by:

(1) building a deep understanding of your emotional triggers and behaviors that follow, and

(2) teaching you skills to help you live in the moment, cope with stress, regulate emotions, and effectively manage your most important relationships.

DBT was originally developed for people who experience emotions very intensely and now helps with concerns such as intense mood swings, impulsive or self-destructive behaviors, and conflict in relationships. “Dialectical” means holding two truths at once: accepting yourself as you are while working toward meaningful change.

Dialectical Behavior

How Does It Work?

DBT is an effective skills-focused treatment that teaches you how to become aware of and effectively regulate your emotions so that you do not engage in harmful or unhealthy behavior, and to communicate your needs respectfully to yourself and to others. DBT allows you to achieve this by focusing on four core skills domains, including:

Core Mindfulness Skills

Mindfulness helps you become aware of your thoughts, emotions, and urges. With greater awareness, you become equipped to learn how to manage them more effectively. Mindfulness teaches you that internal experiences do not need to be acted upon, that they can simply be acknowledged, and that these experiences will dissipate in time.

Interpersonal Effectiveness

Interpersonal Effectiveness teaches you to think about what you most want to get out of an interaction with someone else and learn skills to make it more likely that you can achieve that goal. These skills teach you how to reduce distress in relationships and be assertive.

Emotion Regulation

Oftentimes, when we feel at the most intense end of our mood, we are unable to communicate effectively to get our needs met and achieve our goals. Emotion Regulation skills teach you how to reduce extreme fluctuations in your mood and improve your ability to manage your mood. Emotion regulation teaches you how to achieve a healthy balance in consciously managing the experience and expression of your emotions.

Distress Tolerance

When we are in crisis, it can be difficult to know what to do or how to effectively handle the situation. Distress Tolerance skills teach you to soothe and distract yourself from a particular problem rather than dwelling on it and acting on harmful urges such as substance abuse and self-harm. These skills ultimately teach you how to survive crises without making the situation worse.

What Can I Expect With DBT?

Sessions are typically structured by addressing behaviors in a hierarchy determined by the severity and threat of a specific target behavior.

You will learn how dysfunctional behavior develops and the contingencies maintaining it.

You will learn skills to eliminate destructive and/or unhealthy behaviors that are most impactful on your life.