top of page

DBT

What is DBT?

Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) is a structured approach to therapy that focuses on understanding and changing behaviors that lead to negative consequences. DBT was designed to help individuals who struggle to regulate their emotions and respond to stress in ways that might feel helpful in the short term but create difficulties over time. It emphasizes validation to address the impact of invalidating environments and teaches practical skills to manage emotions and build a fulfilling life.

 

How Does It Work?

DBT assumes that emotional dysregulation often stems from two factors:

​

  1. Biological Vulnerabilities: Difficulty controlling mood states that feel extreme or intolerable.

  2. Invalidating Early Environments: A lack of experiences where emotions were understood and supported.

 

As a result, individuals may develop behaviors—such as impulsivity, self-harm, or substance use—that offer temporary relief but long-term harm. DBT provides behavioral retraining to replace these behaviors with healthier, more effective coping strategies.

 

What to Expect in Treatment

DBT sessions focus on identifying behaviors and thoughts that reinforce emotional distress and teaching new ways to respond. Treatment combines validation (acknowledging your experiences and emotions) with strategies for change. This balance helps ensure the process feels both supportive and actionable.

 

Here’s how treatment typically works:

​

  1. Weekly Review: Sessions often begin by reviewing your week or a diary card to identify behaviors that interfered with your life, well-being, or engaging in counseling itself.  

  2. Behavior Analysis: Your counselor works with you to explore what triggers these behaviors and what reinforces them.  

  3. Reinforcement Adjustment: Together, you create and plan steps to follow to help change the reinforcements that maintain maladaptive behaviors and practice skills learned in DBT skills groups.  

  4. Balance of Validation and Change: Your counselor helps you accept your current reality while also encouraging growth and change, creating a "dialectical" approach to healing.

​

Skills and Techniques in DBT

DBT often involves both individual counseling and skills groups (which I do not presently offer), where you’ll learn strategies to manage emotions and improve relationships.

 

Key techniques include:

​​

  • Behavioral Reinforcement: Adjusting how behaviors are rewarded or discouraged.

  • Skills Application: Practicing new coping strategies, such as mindfulness and emotional regulation.

  • Validation: Acknowledging that your responses make sense given your experiences and emotional states.

 

By focusing on patterns of behavior and the factors that sustain them, DBT helps you transition from reactive, maladaptive responses to thoughtful, adaptive actions that support your long-term well-being.

​

Last updated 1/21/2025.

bottom of page