DBT or Dialectical Behavior Therapy was created by Marsha M Linehan in 1991 as a psychosocial treatment that combines cognitive and behavioral approaches, for Borderline Personality Disorder. Since 1991 DBT has been helping people improve their symptoms, not only from Borderline Personality Disorder but from other diagnoses as well.  DBT has been found to have a high success rate among suicidal patients or those who self injure. 

Dialectical Behavior Therapy works by first addressing any safety concerns (such as suicidal idealization or self injury).  Once safety is clearly established DBT works to reduce any blocks that will interfere with the therapy process and finally DBT offers (last but not least) relief from symptoms so that the person’s life can then be improved.

Dialectical Behavior therapy is broken into two important parts. The first is the work a person does with his/her therapist individually and the second is the work that a person does within a group therapy setting. 

Dialectical Behavior Therapy uses four main modules to promote healing. 

Mindfulness

Mindfulness is at the heart of DBT.  The core mindfulness skills are: Observe, Describe, Participate, Non-judgmentally, One-mindfully, and Effectively.   sounds like a lot but they can be broken down.

Observe, Describe, and Participate are the core mindfulness "what" skills. They answer the question, "What do I do to practice core mindfulness skills? Non-judgmentally, One-mindfully, and Effectively are the "how" skills and answer the question, "How do I practice core mindfulness skills?"

• Observe 

Observe means to notice things without reacting.  It includes using your five senses to observe, and notice what is around you. 

• Describe

To describe something is to put words to it. 

• Participate

When you participate you join in the experience of the moment and allow yourself to become involved in it.

• Non-judgmentally

This is a way to experience things fresh and new without attaching old judgments to them.  When we are non-judgmental we can see with “new eyes”.

• One-mindfully

Being mindful means experiencing what is happening right now. 

• Effectively

Being effective means to focus on what works – not on what doesn’t work.

Emotion Regulation Skills

Among the skills a person learns are:

• Identifying and labeling emotions
• Identifying obstacles to changing emotions
• Reducing vulnerability to “emotion mind”
• Increasing positive emotional events
• Increasing mindfulness to current emotions
• Taking opposite action
• Applying distress tolerance techniques

Interpersonal Effectiveness Skills

The Goals of Interpersonal Effectiveness Training are:

1. UNDERSTAND EMOTIONS YOU EXPERIENCE

Identify (observe and describe) emotions.

Understand what emotions do for you.

2. REDUCE EMOTIONAL VULNERABILITY

Decrease negative vulnerability (vulnerability to emotion mind).

Increase positive emotions.

3. DECREASE EMOTIONAL SUFFERING

Let go of painful emotions through mindfulness.

Change painful emotions through opposite action.

Distress Tolerance Skills

Four sets of Survival Strategies are taught:

• Distracting
• Self Soothing
• Improving the moment
• Thinking of pros and cons