Understanding DBT: How Dialectical Behavior Therapy Can Help You

In today’s therapy world, there are lots of treatments and interventions that are aimed at targeting a specific area of need; maybe you’ve seen the letters and acronyms of the various therapies practitioners may provide, like DBT, CBT, EMDR, EFT, ACT, IFS, etc. Here at Mindsoother Therapy Center, our therapists are trained in depth in DBT, Dialectical Behavior Therapy. So what is DBT? And how could it be helpful to you? Dialectical Behavior Therapy consists of four major modules of skills and tools that can help us to learn more effective ways of managing and regulating our emotions, thoughts, and behaviors.

DBT was initially created by Marsha Linehan in the 1970s to help individuals with Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) to better manage their symptoms. Since then, evidence-based research has found DBT Skills training to be helpful for individuals living with many other mental health struggles (Anxiety, Depression, PTSD, alcohol and substance abuse disorder, disordered eating behaviors, self-harm, suicidal ideations, and more). DBT can be used to help anyone navigate emotionally charged situations with more control and intention.

Dialectical Behavior Therapy encourages us to mindfully reflect on our emotions, explore if the emotion and its intensity match up to the situation at hand, and then to problem-solve for how we would like to proceed in the situation most effectively, or in a way that will achieve the desired outcome. “Dialectical” describes how more than one thing, or opposite things, can be true at the same time. Dialectics highlight that change is happening constantly around us, and simultaneously, we have to balance acceptance with these changes. Within DBT’s modules are dozens of coping skills, strategies, and tools that can help us to work towards our short- and long-term goals in our relationships with ourselves and others.

Here is a simplified breakdown the four DBT modules:

Mindfulness – learning to purposefully focusing on the present moment without judgment to ourselves or others. In this module we simply learn to observe the present moment and allow the facts of that situation to determine our next steps. 

Emotion Regulation – This module teaches skills to improve identifying, understanding, and regulating our emotions. This module is great for understanding how our emotions impact our thoughts and behaviors, and how to adjust those emotions to better suit our needs.

Distress Tolerance – This module includes various practical skills that allow us to increase our ability to tolerate, manage, cope, or withstand distressing thoughts, emotions, and situations.

Interpersonal Effectiveness – Here we review strategies and frameworks that help us to improve our effectiveness in relationships with other people. Examples of these skill sets might be learning how to maintain healthy relationships, setting healthy boundaries, or learning how to solve conflicts respectfully.

DBT skills are fantastic tools for many ages, genders, and concerning issues because the skills are concrete, tangible, and transferable. When applied within a family, these concrete skills can create a shared language that allow for greater retention and stronger bonds. There’s something that everyone can take away from DBT that, through practice, can help us to mindfully regulate our emotions, to better tolerate the stressors we face in life, and to engage in relationships with others in ways that enrich our lives.