WHAT IS DBT?
Providing Hope
Who is DBT for?
Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) is an empirically-supported model of treatment that utilizes some of the skills from Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) and incorporates methodologies from various other practices, including Eastern mindfulness techniques.
DBT was initially developed by Dr. Marsha Linehan for individuals who chronically self-injured and/or met criteria for Borderline Personality Disorder. It has continued to develop and now is an effective treatment approach for children, teenagers, and adults who may self-harm, engage in binge-eating, and/or express depression or suicidality. The overall goal of DBT is to help individuals learn to regulate their emotions in healthier ways. To accomplish this, they are taught how to effectively communicate their needs, express and manage distress, and think about situations in new ways.
DBT is designed to target a variety of behaviors or difficulties. Those participating in DBT do not necessarily need to present with one specific diagnosis; they may just need guidance in managing various aspects of their lives, such as being effective in relationships, managing and understanding their emotions, and working on self-esteem or impulse control. DBT is designed to target a variety of behaviors, including:
●low self-esteem
●poor impulse control
●self-harm behaviors
●difficulty managing emotions
●conflict at work/home
●high-risk behaviors
●eating disorders
●low frustration tolerance
MODULES OF DBT
DBT (Dialectical Behavior Therapy) has four core modules including: Mindfulness, Interpersonal Effectiveness, Emotion Regulation, and Distress Tolerance.
MINDFULNESS
The Mindfulness module helps individuals gain skills and learn to practice being able to effectively manage thoughts and feelings; in other words, being in control of your mind and not letting it be in control of you. These are important skills because an assumption of DBT is that those who participate in activities without awareness are more likely to behave impulsively and can lead to mood dependent behaviors. Becoming more mindful can help reduce impulsive behaviors or responses.
DISTRESS TOLERANCE
The Distress Tolerance module helps individuals learn to tolerate and handle pain and distress skillfully, without engaging in maladaptive coping behaviors. A key element is encouraging participants to recognize that distress and pain are a natural part of life. Skills include: learning to identify and use distractions, self-soothing strategies, and radical acceptance (accepting something for what it is, while not necessarily agreeing with or liking it) to cope.
EMOTION REGULATION
The Emotion Regulation module helps individuals understand where painful emotions come from and how to regulate them. Important components include understanding emotions (such as being able to identify them and understand their purpose), reducing vulnerability to emotions (through self-care and building a sense of mastery), and decreasing emotional suffering.
INTERPERSONAL EFFECTIVENESS
The Interpersonal Effectiveness module helps individuals gain strategies for communicating effectively, such as, asking what one wants or needs, saying no, coping with conflict while maintaining a relationship, and maintaining self-respect are key aspects of this module. Learning to identify and challenge myths about ways to be effective in relationships.
DOES DBT THERAPY WORK?
Many studies have been conducted examining the effectiveness of DBT compared to other types of treatments. Briefly, studies have found that:
●Compared to treatment as usual, subjects who received DBT reported significantly less parasuicidal behaviors (such as cutting) during treatment.
●Compared to treatment as usual, subjects who received DBT had lower treatment dropout rates.
●Subjects who received DBT had fewer inpatient hospital days (8.64) compared to those who had treatment as usual (38.86).
*Please see the research section for more information
