Comprehensive DBT is a more intensive treatment than regular individual therapy.
It includes weekly therapy, skills group, and coaching calls.
DBT was developed by Marsha Linehan, PhD. and was originally developed for those with Borderline personality disorder (BPD), which is characterized by intense emotions, impulsive behaviors, and fears of abandonment. However, that “label” of BPD is often interpreted as a negative term.
Are you afraid you have BPD?
No fear! We don’t care about that label. We do care about what gets in your way. We know that emotions and behaviors associated with BPD are often a result of trauma. The intensity of your emotions is not a negative trait, we can teach you how to manage those emotions so that you can have healthy relationships, which we know is what you value most. We see you in the best possible light and know that you are doing the best that you can with what you have in this moment. DBT helps people regain control of their lives.
DBT has shown to be effective in reducing:
Suicidal thoughts or behaviors
Recurrent hospitalizations
Self injurious behaviors
Eating disorder behaviors
Substance use
Anxiety symptoms
Depression symptoms
It works for people who are often anxious or depressed, who have nightmares or intrusive thoughts about the past or the future, seem to live chaotic lives, or who often feel painful or empty. If you struggle to communicate and connect with others because strong emotions often get in the way, DBT can help.
Comprehensive DBT is different from traditional therapy.
There are four components of the program that make it so successful in treating the issues listed above:
1
Weekly individual therapy
You’ll meet with your therapist each week to find solutions to targeted behaviors that you want to change. Your therapist provides validation and acceptance and reinforces the skills you need to solve problems in a different way.
3
In-the-moment skills coaching
This is the piece that makes DBT so effective. You’ll have access to your therapist outside of sessions so that you can integrate the skills into your life outside of the therapy room.
2
Weekly skills group
This is an educational based group where you will learn new ways of coping from each of the four DBT modules: Mindfulness, Distress Tolerance, Emotion Regulation, and Interpersonal Effectiveness. Read more about how these modules help you below.
4
Consultation team for the therapists
Your emotions and reactions are not too much for us. We have all the support we need. We meet weekly with each other to ensure that we are delivering this treatment to the absolute fidelity so that it is effective for you.
DBT is comprised of four modules full of skills that help you cope in a different way with intense thoughts, emotions and impulsive behaviors:
Mindfulness
The core of DBT. Mindfulness helps you gain awareness of how your thoughts, emotions and behaviors are all connected. Awareness gives you power to begin change. Mindfulness can teach you to stay in the current moment and to stop living in the painful past or the overwhelming future. There is calmness in the current.
Distress Tolerance
These skills help you survive when you’re in crisis, without doing anything to make it worse. These skills can help you ride the wave of your emotions and urges and not damage your relationships in the process.
Emotion Regulation
Here is where you truly start to build your life worth living! These set of skills help you change emotions when you want to change them and create emotions you want to feel. They help you act in alignment with your values, so that you feel less inner conflict.
Interpersonal Effectiveness
This module is all about relationships. How to get rid of unhealthy relationships and cultivate healthy ones. How to communicate in a way that gets your needs met, balancing your self-worth with the importance of preserving relationships.
These four modules come together in a way that gives you everything you need to feel more in control, less chaotic, and have your life that is worth living.
