What is Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT)?
DBT is a type of cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) that blends acceptance and change strategies to help clients manage intense emotions, develop healthier relationships, and reduce self-destructive behaviors. Although originally developed for Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD), we specialize in utilizing DBT to treat a variety of mental health conditions, including:
How Does DBT Work?
At Marsh Psychotherapy, we focus on Individual Therapy to provide personalized care that addresses each client’s unique needs and goals. During one-on-one sessions, clients work with a DBT-trained therapist to:
- Identify emotional triggers and behavioral patterns.
- Set personalized goals for emotional well-being and track progress over time.
- Learn practical DBT skills to manage emotions, cope with stress, and improve relationships.
Individual DBT sessions at Marsh Psychotherapy provide a safe, supportive space for clients to explore their emotions and develop effective coping strategies, ensuring that each client can apply DBT skills in their daily lives for lasting positive change.
The 4 Essential DBT Skills
DBT centers around four core skill areas that empower clients to effectively navigate emotional and interpersonal challenges. Each of these skills plays a crucial role in helping individuals break out of destructive cycles and achieve a more balanced and fulfilling life.
By practicing and mastering these skills, clients can make lasting improvements in their emotional health and interpersonal relationships. These four essential skills are:
1. Mindfulness
Mindfulness is the foundation of DBT, teaching clients how to stay present in the moment without judgment. By increasing self-awareness, mindfulness helps clients recognize their emotions and thoughts as they arise, reducing impulsive reactions and fostering greater emotional control.
Our approach includes the following mindfulness techniques:
- Wise mind
- One mindfulness
- Nonjudgmental stance
2. Distress Tolerance
Distress tolerance skills equip clients to cope with painful or stressful situations without resorting to harmful behaviors. Clients learn techniques to tolerate discomfort, survive crises, and handle difficult emotions in healthier, more constructive ways.
Our approach includes the following distress tolerance techniques:
- Self-soothing
- Sensory grounding
- Improving the moment
- Distraction strategies
- Radical and everyday acceptance
- Mindfulness meditation
3. Emotion Regulation
Emotion regulation skills help clients understand and manage intense emotions, such as anger, anxiety, and sadness. By identifying emotional triggers and learning strategies to reduce emotional vulnerability, clients can maintain greater stability and prevent emotional overwhelm.
Our approach includes the following emotional regulation techniques:
- Self-care techniques such as sleep, exercise, nutrition
- Identifying feelings and accepting them as important
- Building positive experiences
- Attending to relationships
- Respecting the body-mind connection
4. Interpersonal Effectiveness
Interpersonal effectiveness focuses on improving communication and relationship-building skills. Clients learn how to express their needs, set boundaries, and navigate conflicts in a way that enhances relationships and promotes respect for both themselves and others.
Our approach includes the following interpersonal effectiveness techniques:
- Validation
- DEAR MAN
- Self-assertion
- The interpersonal Bill of Rights
- Conflict resolution
- Regulating interpersonal intensity
- Boundaries
- Problem solving
- Dialectical thinking
What To Expect at Marsh Psychotherapy
At Marsh Psychotherapy, we integrate DBT with psychodynamic interpersonal therapy to create a holistic, personalized approach to treatment. The interpersonal skills taught in DBT work synergistically with psychodynamic therapy to give clients a comprehensive understanding of their emotional and relational patterns.
While DBT and psychodynamic therapy share many tools and concepts, they often use different names for similar principles. The DBT language offers a clear and organized framework that helps clients make sense of their symptoms and conflicts in a more structured way. Its accessible, everyday terminology makes the skills easier to understand and apply in real-world situations.
Our Approach to DBT
In our approach, we use the therapeutic relationship itself as a tool for practicing DBT skills in real time. Through the relationship between the therapist and the client, we apply DBT concepts to address current dynamics such as:
- Reenactments of past emotional patterns
- Transference and countertransference (the emotional responses between client and therapist)
- Ruptures and repairs in the therapeutic relationship
By working through these dynamics in therapy sessions, clients gain a deeper understanding of their dysfunctional thoughts, feelings, and behaviors. With the guidance of the therapist, DBT concepts are utilized to make sense of these interactions and practice the skills necessary for managing emotional challenges and improving relationships.
