Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT)
DBT might be an effective treatment for:
● Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)
● Bipolar disorder
● Borderline personality disorder (BPD)
● Eating disorders (such as anorexia nervosa, binge eating disorder, and bulimia nervosa)
● Generalized anxiety disorder (GAD)
● Major depressive disorder (including treatment-resistant major depression and chronic depression)
● Non-suicidal self-injury
● Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD)
● Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
● Substance use disorder
● Suicidal behavior
What is DBT?
● DBT is a type of cognitive behavior therapy
● Cognitive behavioral therapy tries to identify and change negative thinking patterns and pushes for positive behavioral changes.
● Focuses on increasing an individual’s ability to cope with intense emotions in healthy ways
● Originally intended to treat Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) and suicidal behavior
The 4 pillars of DBT
● Interpersonal Effectiveness - helps you to become more assertive in a relationship (for example, expressing your needs and be able to say "no") while keeping a relationship positive and healthy and increasing self-respect.
● Emotion Regulation – understanding and reducing vulnerability to emotions, change unwanted emotions.
● Distress Tolerance – getting through crisis situations without making things worse and accepting reality as it is
● Core Mindfulness - the practice of being fully aware and present in this one moment.
Benefits of DBT
● Each therapeutic setting has its own structure and goals, but the characteristics of DBT can be found in group skills training, individual psychotherapy, and phone coaching
● Acceptance and change: You’ll learn strategies to accept and tolerate your life circumstances, emotions, and yourself. You will also develop skills that can help you make positive changes in your behaviors and interactions with others.
● Behavioral: You'll learn to analyze problems or destructive behavior patterns and replace them with more healthy and effective ones.
● Cognitive: You'll focus on changing thoughts, beliefs, behaviors, and actions that are not effective or helpful.
● Collaboration: You'll learn to communicate effectively and work together as a team (therapist, group therapist, psychiatrist).
● Skill sets: You’ll learn new skills to enhance your capabilities.
Support: You'll be encouraged to recognize your positive strengths and attributes and develop and use them.
