Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) is a type of talk therapy. It’s based on Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), but it’s specially adapted for people who feel emotions very intensely. The focus of DBT Therapy is to first understand and accept your difficult feelings and focus on learning skills to manage those emotions so you can make positive changes in your life. “Dialectical” means trying to understand how two things that seem opposite could both be true. For example, accepting yourself and changing your behavior might feel contradictory, but DBT teaches that it’s possible for you to achieve both these goals together.

DBT is more likely to work for you if:

• You are committed to making positive changes in yourself.
• You are ready to work hard at therapy and do homework assignments.
• You are ready to focus mostly on your present and future, rather than your past.

DBT Skills: Four Key Areas:

1. Mindfulness: Focuses on doing one thing at a time, in the present moment, with one’s full attention, with acceptance, with focus on reduction of emotional suffering.
2. Distress Tolerance: These skills can help people tolerate negative emotions instead of trying to run away from them.
3. Emotion Regulation: These skills help decrease the intensity of feelings without acting on them. Some skills include naming emotions accurately, checking the facts by asking yourself if the emotion you are feeling is warranted by the situation and acting in a way that is opposed to the problematic emotion — for instance, smiling during an upsetting situation — in order to reduce it.
4. Interpersonal Effectiveness: These skills help a person understand their needs in relationships and develop ways of dealing with friends and family. You will learn techniques that explore healthy communication skills with others in ways that are assertive, maintain self-respect and strengthen relationships.