Why DBT?

Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) is an evidence-based treatment that has proven effective for mood disorders, personality disorders, addictive disorders and impulse control disorders. Its benefits can prove useful for anyone trying to achieve balance in their life. It pulls from a variety of effective treatments such as cognitive behavior therapy (CBT), assertiveness training, validation strategies, and Buddhist mindfulness. 

DBT skills can help those who wish to improve their ability to regulate emotions, tolerate distressing and negative emotions, be mindful and present in the given moment, and communicate and interact effectively with others.

Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) has two main components:

1. Individual weekly psychotherapy sessions that emphasize problem-solving behavior for the past week’s issues and troubles that arose in the person’s life. During sessions, the therapist and client work toward learning and improving many basic social skills.
2. Weekly group therapy sessions, generally 2 hours a session which is led by a trained DBT therapist. In these weekly group therapy sessions, people learn skills from one of four different modules: interpersonal effectiveness, distress tolerance/reality acceptance skills, emotion regulation, and mindfulness skills are taught.

What does “dialectical” mean?

The term “dialectical” means a synthesis or integration of opposites. The primary dialectic within DBT is between the seemingly opposite strategies of acceptance and change. All the skills and strategies taught in DBT are balanced in terms of acceptance and change. For example, DBT therapists accept clients as they are while also acknowledging that they need to change in order to reach their goals.

DBT skills are divided into four primary skill sets:

• Mindfulness focuses on improving an individual’s ability to accept and be present in the current moment.
• Distress Tolerance is geared toward increasing a person’s tolerance of negative emotion, rather than trying to escape from it.
• Emotional Regulation covers strategies to manage and change intense emotions that are causing problems in a person’s life.
• Interpersonal Effectiveness consists of techniques that allow a person to communicate with others in a way that is assertive, maintains self-respect, and strengthens relationships.

What is Mindfulness?

Mindfulness is a way of learning to pay attention to whatever is happening in your life that allows you a greater sense of connection to your life inwardly and outwardly. Mindfulness has to do with the quality of awareness that a person brings to everyday living; learning to control your mind, rather than letting your mind control you. Mindfulness practice is the means of familiarizing oneself with awareness itself. When you recognize the moment, what it looks like, feels like, tastes like, sounds like – you are being mindful.

The recognition of an innate, ever-present awareness is the foundation of positive mental health, psychological and emotional resilience and an overarching sense of wellbeing that can be effectively cultivated and relied upon. More than three decades of scientific research at medical centers all over the world suggests that training in mindfulness can positively and often profoundly affect participants’ ability to reduce stress, pain, illness, and medical symptoms while also learning to live life more fully. (Center for Mindfulness in Medicine, Healthcare and Society at UMASS Medical School).

Benefits of Group Therapy

• Group therapy allows people to receive the support and encouragement of the other members. Group members are able to see that there are others going through the same thing, which can help them feel connected.
• Group members can serve as role models to other members of the group. By seeing someone who is successfully coping with a problem, others can be reminded that is hope and recovery is possible. As each person progresses, they can in turn serve as a role model and support figure for others. This fosters feelings of success and accomplishment.
• Group therapy is cost effective. Instead of focusing on just one client at a time, the therapist can devote time to a larger group of people.
• Group therapy offers a safe haven. The setting allows people to practice within the safety and security of the group.
• By working in a group, the therapist can see first-hand how each person responds to others in social situations. This can provide valuable feedback to each client.