Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT)

DBT stands for Dialectical Behavior Therapy. It is an evidenced-based treatment, which means that it has been studied rigorously and determined to be an effective treatment. DBT was developed by Dr. Marsha Linehan in the 1980s and has been proven to be helpful for people with a variety of concerns, including depression, self-harm, PTSD, eating disorders, and substance use. DBT emphasizes the dialectic of balancing acceptance and change and focuses on four sets of skills that illustrate that balance.

1. Mindfulness: Skills to improve awareness of one’s emotional experiences, reduce judgment, and increase focus and attention to the present moment.

2. Distress Tolerance: Skills to help reduce impulsive or problematic behaviors, cope with crisis, and learn to tolerate the discomfort of situations that we cannot immediately improve without making the situation worse. This includes acceptance and mindfulness based skills to help us bare pain gracefully.

3. Emotion Regulation: Skills to help you understand the function of emotions, enhance emotional control, and increase resilience.

4. Interpersonal Effectiveness: Skills to maintain and improve relationships in a way that strengthens self-respect.

DBT is a structured treatment that involves creating a strong therapeutic alliance and emphasizes collaboration between the client and therapist. DBT is helpful for people who feel their emotions very intensely or often feel as though their behaviors are ruled by their emotions, as well as those who struggle with their relationships with others. DBT incorporates mindfulness principles and helps clients build lives that are filled with the things they value most.

In the short video below, DASC clinicians share more about DBT.