Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) is an Evidence-Based Practice form of psychotherapy developed by Marsha Linehan, Ph.D. ABPP, in the late 1993. It was originally developed to treat patients who were presenting with Borderline Personality Disorder. Nowadays, it is used to treat a wider range of psychological conditions and symptoms. The main purpose of DBT if to help patients understand what gets in the way of building a life worth living for.
Individual DBT consists of weekly meetings with a psychologist to address motivation and skills strengthening. Patients learn how to identify goals and behaviors to change. They keep a diary card in order to track their emotions, behaviors, associated events and skills to use.
Another goal of individual DBT is skills generalization. Skills are divided in different modules including emotion regulation, interpersonal effectiveness, mindfulness, distress tolerance and walking the middle path.
DBT relies on the synthesis of acceptance and change in an attempt to:
- Lower impulsive behaviors
- Improve ability to regulate emotions
- Improve relationships with others
- Decrease self-destructive behaviors