Dialectical behavior therapy (DBT) is an offshoot of cognitive-behavioral therapy, developed in the late 1980s to help people with borderline personality disorder. Research shows DBT is highly effective for the disorder and it’s now used successfully in combination with other approaches for binge eating disorder and several other psychiatric conditions.
DBT is similar to cognitive behavioral therapy in that it focuses on the need to change thinking and behaviors, although it includes important aspects of validation to help clients comply with treatment. DBT emphasizes self-acceptance and identification of harmful, destructive behavioral patterns. Initially, clients learn to accept unpleasant or unwanted thoughts, attitudes and actions in a nonjudgmental manner. After acceptance, clients work to change their unhealthy behaviors.
How Does DBT Help?
DBT stresses emotion regulation, mindfulness, interpersonal effectiveness and distress tolerance, helping clients make improvements in all these areas. This makes DBT extremely beneficial when paired with mental health treatment programs and addiction treatment programs because making such drastic change inherently come with emotional responses that therapies such as DBT can alleviate. It teaches clients how to cope with the damaging impact of problematic thoughts, attitudes and behavioral patterns in specific, real-life situations. DBT helps individuals identify personal strengths and build on them so they have a better attitude about themselves and life in general. DBT decreases the incidence of self-harming behaviors at a greater rate than alternative treatments.
Benefits of DBT
DBT is highly collaborative, providing clients with support and feedback throughout the entire therapeutic process. This enables development of meaningful relationships between client and therapist, thereby fostering an improved commitment to treatment. DBT enhances the client’s motivation to change and the ability to respond positively and productively.
- Effective with other therapies
- The decrease in suicidal ideation and self-harm
- Reduction in unhealthy behaviors
- Reduced hospitalization
- Increased capacity to meet goals
- Improved self-sufficiency
- Reduced symptoms (e.g. trauma, stress or depression)
- Enhanced and sustained self-respect
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