DBT Therapy – A Recognised Treatment for BPD and Other Behavioural Disorders
Marsha Linehan developed DBT therapy in the late 1980s, targeted towards treating people with borderline personality disorder (BPD). Research shows that this debilitating psychiatric condition affects between 1% and 6% of the population. People with BPD experience intense feelings related to abandonment, which they often manage by engaging in dangerous behaviours. Typically, these behaviours may include self-harm, physical aggression, or substance abuse. Dialectical Behavioural Therapy (DBT) has been proven to be helpful in the treatment of BPD, offering clients more appropriate ways to deal with intrusive thoughts and emotions.
What is Dialectical Behavioural Therapy?
Dialectical Behaviour Therapy is a comprehensive cognitive behavioural treatment. Its aims are to teach people how to live in the moment, develop healthy ways to cope with stress, regulate their emotions, and improve their relationships with others. While the therapy was originally designed to treat BPD, it has been successfully adapted to treat a range of other mental health conditions such as post-traumatic stress disorder, depression, and eating disorders.
How Does DBT work?
A standard DBT programme requires 12 months of commitment. During the sessions, we work with you to find a way to balance two opposite perspectives at the same time. This helps promote emotional regulation and encourages you to avoid problematic thinking. For example, borderline personality disorder patients will often fall into extremes of ‘I’m all bad’ or ‘I’m all good’, and those beliefs can drastically change in a flash. Our DBT therapies encourage radical self-acceptance and change within yourself. Sessions usually last about two hours, but they can be shorter or longer depending on your needs and progress. You will be able to learn a range of skills in our sessions that will help you to cope better, such as:
Mindfulness
This is a critical skill that helps an individual to practise being present in and fully aware of the moment, rather than engaging in negative thinking about either the past or the future, neither of which can be altered. This specific skill is considered the foundation and will help you to accept and tolerate any form of powerful or overwhelming emotion that you have to deal with on a day-to-day basis. With time, you will slowly learn how to master the techniques taught in our sessions. This will help you mentally slow down in life and focused on yourself and the positives around you in the immediate moment, rather than focusing on the unchangeable past or the unpredictable future.
Interpersonal Effectiveness
Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT) also helps you understand how to communicate clearly and assertively without any animosity when you disagree or say no to a particular situation or request. Learning interpersonal effectiveness helps you to interact with the people around you, fosters better personal relationships, and helps you to address the challenges that can create a stressful environment.
Distress Tolerance
Within our sessions, you will also learn the art of acceptance and change. You’ll discover techniques within this class that will help you handle any crisis without resorting to destructive behaviours, including:
Self-soothing – using your senses to shift your mind’s focus away from the stressful situation.
Skills to help you IMPROVE the moment.
Thinking of the pros and cons of the situation.
Ways to distract your attention away from the problem in the short term.
Emotional Regulation
Last but not least, we will also teach you emotional regulation. This is one of the DBT therapy techniques that will help you control unregulated emotions, such as:
Anger
Depression
Anxiety
Frustration
Individuals who regularly experience intense negative emotions like these will benefit from learning how to regulate and control them better. Once you learn how to manage and change those feelings, you’ll be able to cope with any form of painful emotions caused by situations that are entirely out of your control.
Where Can I Find DBT Therapy Near Me?
It’s not always practical to attend a physical clinic or workshop to learn these skills – we all have busy schedules, and many people simply don’t have access to a recognised clinic that offers DBT in their area. That’s why we focus on delivering online DBT services. We offer various DBT programmes such as:
Online DBT Skills Group
We will teach you DBT skills from the Linehan skills training manual. Our DBT skills groups run online, and attending them is similar to attending a real-life class. This mode of DBT involves exercises, group activities, and reflection and will end with homework to help you practise these skills in your life.
Online Individual Sessions
We offer individual sessions to help you reduce your impulsive behaviours in and out of therapy and encourage you to reach your defined goals through learning new skills.
Online DBT Crisis Coaching
We offer coaching services for those who are attending our online sessions. We will shape your skills and help you learn emotional regulation and distress tolerance techniques to help in moments of crisis.
If you’re interested in the services we offer at Online DBT, you can contact us on 0203 4325909. We’ll assess your situation and recommend a learning programme that suits you and your needs. If you have any questions regarding our services or DBT, we’d be more than happy to answer them. You can email us anytime at hello@onlinedbt.co.uk.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
What are the main points of dialectical behaviour therapy?
The main points of DBT therapy are:
Enhancing patient awareness of their thoughts, feelings, and behaviours;
Teaching patients problem-solving skills;
Helping patients to develop more adaptive coping skills; and
Teaching patients how to regulate their emotions.
What are the four stages of dialectical behaviour therapy?
Here are the four stages of DBT:
Crises interventions: DBT prevents self-destructive behaviour.
Resistance reduction: DBT next addresses treatment resistance.
Mastering skills: Clients who commit to treatment can learn life-improving skills.
Spiritual connection: Many clients benefit from realising their life’s purpose.
What is DBT used to treat?
DBT, or dialectical behavioural therapy, is a type of cognitive behavioural therapy that was originally developed to treat people with a borderline personality disorder. However, BPD treatment has since been adapted and found to be effective in treating a range of other mental disorders as well, including depression, substance abuse, eating disorders, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and more.
What techniques are used in DBT?
There are a number of techniques that are used in Dialectical Behaviour Therapy, or DBT. They include:
Mindfulness – learning to be aware of and accept the present moment without judgment;
Distress Tolerance – accepting and managing difficult emotions and situations;
Interpersonal Effectiveness – communicating effectively and setting boundaries; and
Emotional Regulation – learning how to effectively manage emotions.
Is DBT good for trauma?
Yes. DBT, or dialectical behavioural therapy, is a type of psychological treatment originally developed to help people with borderline personality disorder. DBT has since been shown to be effective for treating a variety of mental health conditions, including trauma resulting in PTSD.
What is DBT for PTSD?
DBT for PTSD helps people who have post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). It is a form of cognitive-behavioural therapy (CBT) that focuses on changing the way people think and feel about their trauma.
The goal of DBT for PTSD is to help people understand and change the thoughts and emotions that are preventing them from living a full and happy life.
Does DBT help with ADHD?
ADHD can make it difficult for individuals to focus, leading to them making impulsive actions. DBT helps clients learn how to concentrate on the present moment, modify problematic behaviours, and alleviate the symptoms associated with ADHD. DBT offers structure and tools to help people better manage their attention and behaviours and assist in applying these skills to their unique circumstances.
Functions of DBT
Capabilities enhancement
People suffering from BPD or other disorders need life skills to help improve their emotional regulation and reduce the stress they feel. Learning to stay present in the moment can help combat destructive behaviours. DBT is taught through both individual and group therapy, with homework to be carried out back in the ‘real world’ to embed the skills that clients are taught.
Motivation and reducing dysfunction
Therapists use diary cards in their sessions that allow clients to track their behaviours, such as triggers to self-harm. These diary cards may also include measures where clients can rank the intensity of their emotions. The purpose of the diary cards is for the client and the therapist to monitor and track progress over time, as well as refine treatment plans to focus on the areas that will be most beneficial.
Motivating and retaining therapists
Conducting therapy treatments can be stressful for the therapist, who can tire easily and lose their sense of wonder and inspiration. Burnout is possible. For this reason, therapists are encouraged to consult with one another. Each provides support for others, and cases and problems can be discussed.
Therapists also hold each other accountable and inspire compassion for and engagement with clients.
Environment Construction
Therapists need a safe space in which they can promote progress and safety. It’s critical that nothing they do should enable or reinforce a client’s bad behaviours.
Clients are encouraged to own their actions while therapists intervene when problematic behaviours are displayed. Therapists, therefore, maintain a safe, proactive environment of tolerance, within which they encourage a healthy lifestyle.
Effectiveness of Dialectical Behaviour Therapy
This approach to therapy has been proven to successfully help people improve their coping skills so that they can develop effective ways to manage and express strong emotions. DBT has been shown to be effective regardless of age, gender identity, gender, sexual orientation, or race/ethnicity.
For borderline personality disorder treatment: DBT has been successful in treating borderline personality disorder (BPD) and lowering suicide risk among those suffering from it, according to research. One study shows that more than 75% of people previously diagnosed with BPD no longer met the diagnostic criteria after a year of therapy.
For other conditions: Although most DBT studies have focused on its value for people with borderline personality disorder who have suicidal and self-injurious thoughts, the approach may also help those with other mental health problems. According to studies, it is useful in the treatment of depression, eating disorders, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and anxiety.
DBT Techniques
DBT employs specific techniques to achieve its treatment objectives.
Individual therapy
Individual therapy usually focuses on traumatic experiences, emotional regulation, and other issues that arise.
As part of the therapy offering support for BPD, the therapist may give the client assignments, help troubleshoot difficulties that patients routinely encounter, and assist them in putting their new skills into practice outside of the therapy sessions.
Each week, the individual will typically fill out a diary card, also known as a self-monitoring form, to keep track of their various treatment goals. This card helps inform future treatment and allocate session time.
Skills training group session
Members of the group typically discuss new skills, practical work, and DBT therapy worksheets used for homework. Each group typically consists of between four and ten participants.
Consultations over the phone
DBT therapists are often available by phone to deal with crises between sessions.
Therapy consultation group
Working with BPD and other hard-to-treat conditions can be difficult for therapists. As a result, the therapy team usually meets once a week for support, training, and feedback. This keeps the therapists competent and motivated.
If you think DBT could help you and are looking for a reliable, experienced provider of therapy, contact us here at Online DBT. We are a professional service provider that offers clients dialectical behaviour therapy in the comfort of their own homes.