This week we are sharing a tip from our school psychologist, Mrs. Rollins, and her intern, Miss Kelsey.

This week we are talking about – What is DBT Therapy?

Dialectical Behavior Therapy is a type of talk therapy that is adapted from Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) for those who experience emotions very intensely. It is used to treat a wide range of mental health conditions, including anxiety, depression, eating disorders, self-harm, suicidal behavior, and other serious mental health conditions.

A core idea of DBT is that 2 opposite thoughts can both be true. For example, someone can accept who they are and also strive for growth and progression. Validation is also important. The therapist validates that the client’s actions “make sense” based on the client’s personal experiences, knowledge, and situation, without having to agree that the client’s actions were the best for solving the problem.

DBT teaches 4 modules of helpful skills:

1. Mindfulness – becoming more aware of the present moment by learning to focus on one thing at a time without judgment.
2. Emotion Regulation – recognizing and naming emotions without judging them by learning how different emotions shape personal behaviors and how to manage them.
3. Interpersonal Effectiveness – learn how to create healthy relationships while taking care of oneself by working through conflict, improving listening, and clearly communicating needs.
4. Distress Tolerance – accepting what you can and cannot control. Learn to use in-the-moment coping strategies like breathing exercises or taking a walk.

DBT sessions are 45-60 minutes, once a week or every other week in a group or individually. Sessions initially include reducing self-harming or suicidal behaviors and behaviors that impede therapy. Then, sessions focus on helping the client improve their quality of life by identifying unhelpful behaviors and replacing them with behaviors that move them toward their goals. Individual practice of skills outside of sessions is also important.

The Cleveland Clinic, Mind UK, VeryWellMind, and Psych Central all have more information on this topic if you are interested.

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