DBT

Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT) is less about changing thoughts and emotions and more about learning how to tolerate them. Some emotions we have are distressing but are not necessarily changeable. For example, if you have been traumatized, you might feel abandoned. In this case the feeling is accurate, as matches what really happened. Here we would learn how to sit with the distressing and painful emotions of being abandoned instead of trying to convince you otherwise.

 

DBT is useful for nearly any type of emotions but was originally developed for the extremes of emotion, such as suicidality and self-harm seen in Borderline Personality Disorder.  

Things we may do together when using DBT might include: learning to identify and label emotions, learning how to accept, tolerate and sit with difficult emotions, or learning how to tolerate circumstances when we can't change them. With Borderline Personality Disorder we will work also on identity and dissociation which is a part of handling emotions better. DBT is also about developing greater awareness of one's emotions and self-compassion as a way to cope. 

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I integrate DBT with other therapies depending on what might benefit you at that time.

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 Click here to book a free consultation to discuss more how this process might work for you.

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