Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) is a comprehensive cognitive-behavioral treatment that was initially developed by Dr. Marsha Linehan to treat high-risk individuals with suicidal and self-harm behaviors.
These people often experience a heightened emotional sensitivity to situations and their emotions are triggered rather quickly, tend to be very intense and take a long time to resolve.
Oftentimes, these individuals have learned to manage their intense emotions by engaging in behaviors that are effective in the short-term (e.g., make suicide attempts, engage in self-harm or impulsive behaviors, use alcohol and drugs, binge/restrict/purge food, avoidance of situations) but eventually create a life that is painful and unbearable in the long-term.
Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) targets these behaviors through a balance of acceptance (validation, mindfulness, self-compassion, distress tolerance) and change strategies (emotion regulation, problem-solving, building interpersonal effectiveness, reducing ineffective thinking).
At DBT Psychological Services of Long Island, clients participate in both weekly individual DBT therapy sessions and weekly DBT Skills Groups, while therapists provide skills coaching to help clients use new behavioral coping skills in all areas of life. To learn more about exactly what DBT encompasses and to decide whether it’s right for you, visit our page here or give us a call today at (631) 828-2082.
