What is Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT)?

Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT) is a talking therapy which helps people who feel emotions very intensely . DBT is an evidence-based model of therapy that helps people learn and use new skills and strategies to improve their emotion regulation. DBT is similar to Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) but the focus is more on acceptance of who you are at the same time of helping you change unhelpful ways of behaving and thinking.

What is the aim of DBT?

The aim of DBT is to help individuals who suffer with regulating their emotions by

• Understanding and accepting difficult feelings

• Learning new skills to manage difficult feelings

• Becoming more able to make positive changes in life

Which conditions can DBT help with?

DBT was initially established to help with Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) but over time research has shown that it can help with

• Depression

• Drug and alcohol problems

• Eating problems

• Self-harm

• Suicide attempts

  As well as other mental health conditions
  
  

• Therapy can be experienced differently for many individuals with many different mental health conditions. If you are to gain from DBT then you need to be

• active in completing homework in between DBT sessions with your psychologist

• ready to focus mostly on your present and future, rather than your past
  

What can I expect DBT in therapy sessions?

In DBT therapy sessions your psychologist will use a balance of acceptance and change techniques:

Acceptance techniques

• understanding yourself as a person

• making sense of why you might do certain things for example self-harm

Your behaviour may have been your only coping mechanism to deal with your intense emotions with DBT sessions suggesting this makes sense of your behaviour. However this behaviour might cause damage or alarm other people.

Change techniques

The focus of change techniques is on replacing behaviour that harms you with behaviour that helps you. This may mean your psychologist helps by:

• Challenging your unhelpful thoughts

• Encouraging you to adopt new ways of dealing with distress

DBT challenges

DBT techniques are helpful in moving forward with a better understanding and development of new coping strategies. However, this is not a quick fix and the techniques learnt during therapy sessions need to be practiced regularly to gain the most from this type of therapy.

Is DBT right for me?

Talk with a psychologist who is trained in this method to find out if DBT is right for you. The psychologist will evaluate your symptoms, treatment history, and therapy goals to see if DBT might be a good fit.