Dialectical Behavioral Therapy, an Introduction

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Published by OK Clinical on November 4, 2024

You may have heard of Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT) before – but what is it?

DBT is a structured form of therapy that focuses on four main skill areas: mindfulness, distress tolerance, emotional regulation, and interpersonal effectiveness. The idea behind DBT is that if you can build new skills in these four areas, they will create space in your life for more happiness, peace, and productivity. It’s particularly useful for people who experience emotions very intensely, and may not be coping in ways that are helpful or healthy. “Dialectical” means to combine two things that are opposite, and DBT aims to help you do this: to accept the reality or a situation, while simultaneously learning and using skills to change behaviors and make changes in life.

For example, imagine you are experiencing a stressful work situation, are feeling overwhelmed, and are using substances to cope. DBT therapy would have you monitor your emotions mindfully, increase your capacity to tolerate stress, process and regulate your emotions, and increase your healthy coping skills. It would also teach skills to address stressful situations with others, such as a boss or challenging family member.

The Four Skill Areas of DBT:

Mindfulness: When focusing on mindfulness, you will learn how to understand and describe what is going on for you in the moment, without judgment.

Distress Tolerance: Learning about distress tolerance is all about growing your ability to deal with stressful situations, including skills like self-soothing, acceptance, distraction, relaxation, and more.

Emotional Regulation: When we learn how to regulate emotionally, we can recognize, validate, and work through emotional urges. This is key to responding to situations in ways that are helpful to us.

Interpersonal Effectiveness: The first three skill areas all help us when it comes to building our interpersonal effectiveness. This helps us to manage our relationships in a healthy way, communicate effectively, and deal with conflicts.

Who is DBT useful for?

DBT is a very well studied form of therapy that is shown to be very helpful to clients in a variety of circumstances. DBT can be useful for folks experiencing:

Anxiety
Depression
Borderline Personality Disorder
Substance use issues
Self harm behavior
PTSD
Anger management
Eating disorders
ADHD
And more!

Want to Learn More?

There are many counselors at OK Clinical Therapy Group who use DBT as part of their practice, reach out to us to connect! We are accessible online and in person at our 8 locations across BC, and at flexible times including evenings and weekends. You can read more about some of them here, or give us a call or email any time to discuss your options.

To learn more about DBT, check out these resources:

For more information, feel free to text or call 250-718-9291, and we’ll get you connected with the best counsellor to fit your needs. You can also email us at [email protected]

For specialized services, our team is ready to help you explore ur various counselling programs. You can also check out our General Counseling Services, learn about the Types of Therapy we offer, or visit our booking page here.