Dialectical Behaviour Therapy
What is Dialectical Behaviour Therapy?
DBT is a specialist form of cognitive behavioural therapy (or CBT), developed by Marsha Linehan in the 1980s.
It was originally developed to treat individuals with borderline personality disorder (BPD), now commonly known as emotionally unstable personality disorder (EUPD), but it has since been adapted to help people with a wide range of emotional and behavioural struggles, including mood (anxiety and depression) disorders, self-harming and suicidal behaviours [1], substance abuse [2], anger and aggression [3], and eating disorders [4].
Generally speaking, it is especially useful for people who may feel emotions very quickly and/or intensely, and those who may struggle with the use of unhelpful coping behaviours to manage distressing emotional states.
The aim of this kind of therapy is to help a person understand their feelings and be more accepting of them, while also acquiring new skills to help manage them more effectively, so as to drive positive, meaningful change.
What does DBT involve?
DBT is a highly structured therapy, drawing on mindfulness, cognitive behavioural and acceptance-based concepts and strategies. New skills are acquired in a modular fashion (typically in a group setting).
It generally focuses on difficulties in the “here and now”, with exploration of past experiences not always necessary for positive change. There are four main skill-sets that are targeted and developed over a course of DBT:
1) Mindfulness skills
2) Interpersonal effectiveness skills
3) Distress tolerance skills
4) Emotion regulation skills
DBT traditionally involves both weekly individual and group sessions. Individual, DBT-informed sessions are typically held in person once a week, lasting about 50 minutes. The aim of these sessions is typically to develop and apply a variety of new skills and to reduce harmful or unhelpful behaviours that may be having a negative impact on one’s life.
Prior to initiating DBT treatment, an assessment or pre-treatment phase is recommended in order to make sure that it is a suitable form of therapy for you. You will also be given the opportunity to learn more about the therapy model, so you can decide whether or not it might be a good fit.
DBT in London
DBT is a therapeutic model in which I received specialist training following completion of my doctoral studies in clinical psychology. It is a model that I regularly implement (and integrate) aspects of into my clinical practice.
If you’d like to find out more about how I draw upon DBT in my work, please feel free to get in touch to arrange an initial consultation appointment. I offer DBT-informed therapy from my practice in Central London and online.
[1] DeCou, C. R., Comtois, K. A., & Landes, S. J. (2019). Dialectical behavior therapy is effective for the treatment of suicidal behavior: A meta-analysis. Behavior therapy, 50(1), 60-72.
[2] Haktanir, A., & Callender, K. A. (2020). Meta-analysis of dialectical behavior therapy (DBT) for treating substance use. Research on Education and Psychology, 4(Special Issue), 74-87.
[3] Ciesinski, N. K., Sorgi-Wilson, K. M., Cheung, J. C., Chen, E. Y., & McCloskey, M. S. (2022). The effect of dialectical behavior therapy on anger and aggressive behavior: A systematic review with meta-analysis. Behaviour research and therapy, 154, 104122.
[4] Linardon, J., Gleeson, J., Yap, K., Murphy, K., & Brennan, L. (2019). Meta-analysis of the effects of third-wave behavioural interventions on disordered eating and body image concerns: Implications for eating disorder prevention. Cognitive behaviour therapy, 48(1), 15-38.