dialectical behavior therapy
Dialectical behavior therapy (DBT) is an evidence-based psychotherapy that began with efforts to treat personality disorders and interpersonal conflicts. There is evidence that DBT can be useful in treating mood disorders, suicidal ideation, and for change in behavioral patterns such as self-harm and substance use. DBT evolved into a process in which the therapist and client work with acceptance and change-oriented strategies, and ultimately balance and synthesize them, in a manner comparable to the philosophical dialectical process of thesis and antithesis, followed by synthesis.This approach was developed by Marsha M. Linehan, a psychology researcher at the University of Washington; She defines dialectical as “a synthesis or integration of opposites”. DBT was designed to help people increase their emotional and cognitive regulation by learning about the triggers that lead to reactive states and helping to assess which coping skills to apply in the sequence of events, thoughts, feelings, and behaviors to help avoid undesired reactions.DBT grew out of a series of failed attempts to apply the standard cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) protocols of the late 1970s to chronically suicidal clients. Research on its effectiveness in treating other conditions has been fruitful; DBT has been used by practitioners to treat people with depression, drug and alcohol problems, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), traumatic brain injuries (TBI), binge-eating disorder, and mood disorders. Research indicates DBT might help patients with symptoms and behaviors associated with spectrum mood disorders, including self-injury. Recent work also suggests its effectiveness with sexual-abuse survivors and chemical dependency.DBT combines standard cognitive-behavioral techniques for emotion regulation and reality-testing.
evidence-based psychotherapy designed to help people with emotional dysregulation such as in borderline personality disorder
cognitive behavioral therapy treatment of mental disorders