British Association for Counseling and Psychotherapy
It’s a good idea to talk with your primary care physician or psychiatrist about your desire to pursue DBT therapy . Your doctor can provide a referral and help confirm whether this is the best therapeutic approach for you.
DBT has five specific states of change which the therapist will review with the patient: precontemplation, contemplation, preparation, action, and maintenance.
DBT was originally developed to treat borderline personality disorder. However, research shows that DBT has also been used successfully to treat people experiencing depression, bulimia, binge-eating, bipolar disorder, post-traumatic-stress disorder, and substance abuse.
The four modules of psychological and emotional function that DBT focuses on include: Mindfulness , interpersonal effectiveness , distress tolerance and emotion regulation . Traditionally, skill development in these four modules is approached in a systematic and gradual manner in both individual and group therapy.
Yes?! It’s quite possible you’re using DBT (Dialectical Behavior Therapy) skills without even realizing. That’s the beauty of DBT . The skills that are taught can be done in home, at work, at school, wherever they are needed.
Cognitive behavioral therapy tries to identify and change negative thinking patterns and pushes for positive behavioral changes. DBT may be used to treat suicidal and other self-destructive behaviors. It teaches patients skills to cope with, and change, unhealthy behaviors.
Dialectical thinking refers to the ability to view issues from multiple perspectives and to arrive at the most economical and reasonable reconciliation of seemingly contradictory information and postures.
Depression and anxiety sufferers have found a lot of success with CBT, while people with borderline personality disorder and chronic thoughts of suicide find DBT more helpful . Keep in mind that many people have more than one diagnosis, and sometime people use elements from both DBT and CBT to manage their symptoms.
DBT and Depression As previously stated, DBT wasn’t specifically created to address depression , but due to its core premise, many patients and psychiatrists have found that it can be used as an effective treatment.
Many therapists share the general stigma that surrounds patients with borderline personality disorder (BPD). Some even avoid working with such patients because of the perception that they are difficult to treat.
For depression, anxiety , OCD, phobias and PTSD, research has shown that CBT tends to be the more effective treatment. For borderline personality disorder, self-harm behaviors and chronic suicidal ideation, DBT tends to be the better choice.
The success of DBT on the BPD population has led to its ongoing research and success with people diagnosed with eating disorders. This is due to the fact that DBT helps patients establish coping mechanisms to reduce anxiety in situations and environments that elicit the stress response associated with food.
DBT teaches clients four sets of behavioral skills : mindfulness; distress tolerance; interpersonal effectiveness; and emotion regulation. But, whether you have a mental illness or not, you can absolutely benefit from learning these skills and incorporating them into your life.
Stages and Goals in DBT Stage 1. The focus of this stage is stabilization. Stage 2. In this stage, behaviors are more stable, but mental health issues may still be present. Stage 3. This stage focuses on enhancing quality of life through maintenance of progress and reasonable goal -setting. Stage 4.
These skills include: objective effectiveness, or learning how to ask for what you want and take steps to get it. interpersonal effectiveness, or learning how to work through conflict and challenges in relationships. self-respect effectiveness, or building greater respect for yourself.