What is Dialectical Behavioral Therapy?

DBT is Dialectical Behavioral Therapy.  It was developed by Marsha Linehan, PhD. for individuals struggling with Borderline Personality Disorder.  It is comprised of four main components (Skills training, Individual Therapy, Phone coaching, and Case Consultation). 

Skills Training:  Skills training can be performed in an individual or group setting.  Training has a set schedule that is utilized to teach clients the DBT skills.  There are 4 types of DBT skills (mindfulness, emotion regulation, distress tolerance, and interpersonal relationships).  These skills are to help with emotion dis-regulation.

Individual Therapy:  Individual therapy is a solution focused treatment to help clients with understanding how the DBT skills pertain to their lives.  Behavioral Analysis is utilized to best assist the client in decreasing problematic behaviors.

Phone Coaching:  Phone Coaching is utilized when clients are struggling with particular urges or struggles before acting on these urges or struggles to best help the client work through healthy coping strategies rather than falling into their negative coping strategies.

Case Consultation:  Case Consultation is utilized by the therapist to best help their clients.

Mindfulness:

A mental state achieved by focusing one's awareness on the present moment, while calmly acknowledging and accepting one's feelings, thoughts, and bodily sensations.

Emotion Regulation:

The ability to respond to the ongoing demands of experience with the range of emotions in a manner that is socially tolerable and sufficiently flexible to permit spontaneous reactions as well as the ability to delay spontaneous reactions as needed.

Distress Tolerance:

Distress Tolerance skills are used to help us cope and survive during a crisis, and helps us tolerate short term or long term pain (physical or emotional).

Interpersonal Relationships:

An interpersonal relationship is a strong, deep, or close association or acquaintance between two or more people that may range in duration from brief to enduring. This association may be based on inference, love, solidarity, regular business interactions, or some other type of social commitment.