What is DBT

What is Dialectical Behaviour Therapy?

Dialectical behaviour therapy (DBT) is a comprehensive multidiagnostic treatment that is transdiagnostic - effective in treating multiple diagnoses.

DBT is a behavioural therapy that combines behavioural change with radical acceptance and distress tolerance. Problematic behaviours evolve as a way to cope with a situation or attempt to solve a problem. DBT is a skills based intervention that helps develop effective ways to navigate situations that arise in everyday life or manage specific challenges. DBT assumes that you are doing the best that you can and that all people want to do more.

DBT is broken into four components - Distress Tolerance, Emotion Regulation, Interpersonal Skills and Mindfulness. 

Distress tolerance skills are used to help survive a crisis and not make it worse.

Emotion Regulation skills help gain control of emotions and behaviour associated with them.

Interpersonal skills help to develop and maintain relationships and end destructive ones.

Mindfulness underpins all of DBT through paying attention to the present moment which builds awareness of when emotions need to be managed or when crisis situation needs to be tolerated or relationships attended to.

DBT is collaborative, support-oriented and cognitive based: It helps a person identify their strengths, learn different ways of thinking as well as learning and  practicing behavioural skills.

DBT was developed to address self injury, suicidal ideation and behaviours that purposely lead to bodily harm; therapy interfering behaviours (of both the client and therapist); behaviours that interfere with having a reasonable quality of life and replacing ineffective behaviours with skilful behaviours.

Bianca Limpus - Psychologist