The Who of Dialective Behavioural Therapy
Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT) was first coined and developed by Dr Marsha Linehan in the late 1980s. She found the standard CBT to be insufficient for treating chronic conditions of self-harm and suicidal idealogy such as those suffered by people with borderline personality disorder.
You can't think yourself into new ways of acting; You can only act yourself into new ways of thinking. Acceptance is the only way out of hell. ~ Dr Marsha Linehan
The What of Dialective Behavioural Therapy
Dialectical Behaviour Therapy is a spin-off from CBT and is also one of the Behavioural Therapies that helps people change their behaviours. It was designed to help people manage intense emotions and improve their relationships both with others and with themselves. Like ACT, it emphasizes balancing acceptance and change by using techniques such as mindfulness and includes techniques that help individuals better tolerate distress, regulate their emotions and improve interpersonal effectiveness.
The four core processes are:
Mindfulness: As in ACT, mindfulness is practised to increase an individual's awareness of themselves and acceptance of their present moment. It promotes the ability to observe and describe thoughts, feelings, and sensations without judgment or attachment.
Distress Tolerance: This process includes techniques such as distraction, self-soothing and radical acceptance to help with an individual's ability to cope with distressing situations in a healthy way.
Emotion Regulation: This process is about helping the individual understand and manage their emotions. It includes strategies for identifying and labelling emotions, increasing positive emotional experiences and creating psychological flexibility.
Interpersonal Effectiveness: This process focuses on improving relationships and communication. It educates on skills for assertiveness, setting boundaries, and maintaining self-respect while interacting with others.
Dialectical Behaviour Therapy was created initially to help people with personality disorders such as borderline personality disorder, schizophrenia, and dissociative identity disorder to name a few. It was also found to be quite useful with mood disorders such as anxiety and depression, as well as suicidal ideation and helping to change dangerous coping mechanisms such as self-harm and substance abuse.
Make sure you go to my master blog in this series "Not All Therapy Is Equal: A Series" and have a look at some of the other therapies to find the one best suited to your situation. Therapy is not a one-size-fits-all system and it is important to shop around until you find the best kind of therapy and then find the best therapist who practises that type of therapy in order to get the very best results for yourself.
If You Need Extra Support
Australia (Call 000 in a medical emergency)
Beyond Blue - https://www.beyondblue.org.au/ 1300 22 46 36
Lifeline - 13 11 14 or SMS 0477 13 11 14
Black Dog Institute - https://www.blackdoginstitute.org.au/ (02) 9382 2991
Kids Helpline - 1800 55 1800
Beyond Blue - 1300 22 4636
Around the World
BetterHelp - https://www.betterhelp.com/
New Zealand - Lifeline - 0800 543 354
USA and Canada - Suicide and Crisis Lifeline - 988 (call 911 in a medical emergency)
UK - Samaritans - 116 123
UK - SANEline - 0300 304 7000
Canada - https://kidshelpphone.ca/ 1800 668 68 68 or text 68 68 68
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