Dialectical Behavioural Therapy (DBT)
What is DBT?
Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT) is an evidence based approach used to treat a variety of conditions. DBT is based on CBT, but is specially adapted for people who experience emotions very intensely and have ongoing struggles with relationships in their lives.
‘Dialectical’ means trying to understand how two things that seem opposite could both be true. For example, accepting yourself and changing your behaviour might feel contradictory. But DBT teaches that it’s possible for you to achieve both these goals together.
DBT teaches people to be more accepting of their thoughts and intense feelings in the present moment and learning behavioural techniques to cope. DBT also helps teach skills for interpersonal relationships such as setting/maintaining healthy boundaries with others, effective listening and communication skills and healthy respect for self and others in relationships.
How Does DBT Work?
- Mindfulness: Learning to be present and noticing your thoughts, feelings and behaviour as they happen without trying to control them.
- Distress tolerance: Developing skills to tolerate and effectively cope during emotional crisis, especially when there is nothing one can change about a situation, and accepting a situation as it is, rather than how it is perceived it should be.
- Interpersonal effectiveness: The ability of a person to ask for what they need when necessary, while still maintaining self-respect and relationships with others.
- Emotion regulation: The ability to manage intense emotions so that they don’t negatively affect our thoughts and behaviours.
How long will I need DBT?
It is difficult to give an exact time frame when doing individual DBT sessions because each person is unique, and mental health conditions are complex so the amount of time and sessions can vary. Traditional DBT typically takes at least six months to a year but has also been effectively adapted to provide shorter term therapy (3-4 months).