Hello, it’s Imane here on the Dóchas blog! Have you or a family member ever struggled with mental health? Are you having trouble engaging effectively in your relationships, managing difficult feelings, engaging in problematic behaviours, and impulsive decision-making? If any of these are the case for you or anyone you know, then you may want to stick around and let me explain what Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT) is.
What is DBT?
Dialectical Behavioral Therapy: What is it? DBT is a state-of-the-art, evidence-based form of cognitive behavioural therapy for children, teens, and adults having trouble managing emotions, thoughts, and behaviours. It is a behavioural approach to treatment that is geared toward individuals dealing with a variety of issues including trauma, personality disorders, and bipolar disorders. DBT can help one effectively find balance, accept change, deal with painful experiences and emotions, manage stress, and build interpersonal relationship skills.
Who is it for?
Dialectical Behavioral Therapy can be a helpful tool for those who experience difficulties with both under-control and over-control of emotions and associated cognitions and behaviours. Some of us are more prone to intense reactions to difficult and unexpected situations. Under-control is experienced when emotional flooding (an overwhelming increase in uncomfortable thoughts and feelings) occurs due to various triggers in the environment. Triggers can include situations related to family and friends. According to DBT, in some individuals, emotional and psychological arousal can vary from person to person. In some individuals, there is greater fluctuation in psychological arousal which results in a higher level of emotionality. This can hinder one’s ability to regulate and self-soothe. DBT uses skills training in areas including emotion regulation, mindfulness, interpersonal effectiveness, and distress tolerance to help address different areas of functioning and to help clients improve their overall ability to regulate and function in all aspects of life.
What areas can DBT help me in?
In DBT, we focus on 4 primary areas to help you gain skills in your life that will help you achieve a life worth living:
- Mindfulness. Mindfulness is a significant part of DBT and can be especially helpful for managing emotion regulation problems. Simply put, mindfulness is being in the present and paying attention to what is happening in the here and now without judgment. You can practice mindfulness by focusing on your current tasks. This can help distract you from your worries about the future and relieve your anxiety.
- Regulating Emotion. Emotional pain can be a major detriment in our daily lives. It can disrupt our relationships and result in heightened sensitivity and mood instability. By regulating our emotions, rather than focusing on changing the emotions we are experiencing, we learn to endure painful emotions without reacting in destructive ways so that we can process them and move on.
- Distress Tolerance. As much as we want to change our situations, most of the time, some circumstances are almost impossible or difficult to change. Distress tolerance skills can be especially useful for coping during a crisis and can help us deal with both temporary and long-term pain. Distress tolerance skills include radically accepting our situations and increasing our willingness to experience them. It can also include distraction through building mastery in skills and activities that might absorb our attention for a certain time.
- Interpersonal Effectiveness. Simply stated, interpersonal effectiveness refers to one’s ability to interact positively with others. This is inclusive of skills we use to build and deal with relationships. This can include setting boundaries, expressing needs and wants, balancing priorities, and building a sense of mastery and self-respect. This skill can help reduce friction in our lives, and in-turn mitigates the amount of stress we experience in our relationships.
Okay, so now you have learned a little bit about DBT! If this sounds like something you can benefit from, feel free to reach out to me, DBT clinician here at Dochas Psychological Services, to learn more about individual adult and adolescent DBT and our Adolescent DBT program.
We completely understand that it can feel overwhelming to cope with difficult emotions and figuring out how to find peace and calm within chaos is quite a challenge, especially when we try to do it by ourselves. If you would like help with this, then I encourage you to reach out and ask us how we can help. You can reach out to us here by calling us at 780 446 0300 or emailing info@dochaspsychologicalservices.com.
About Dóchas Psychological
Dóchas Psychological Services is a well-established and trusted therapy clinic located in Spruce Grove, Alberta. At Dóchas we value the idea that everyone deserves a safe space. Through connection and education, our team works hard to build a trustworthy relationship with each of our clients. It is our goal to create a community for our clients to feel like they belong.
Disclaimer
Information provided through Dóchas Psychological Services blogs or vlogs is meant for educational purposes only. They are NOT medical or mental health advice. You can read more about our disclaimer here
