What is DBT Skills Training?

Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) was developed by Marsha Linehan, Ph.D. as a treatment for individuals with chronic mood dysregulation. Individuals with various diagnoses can benefit, including those with borderline personality disorder, post traumatic stress disorder, eating disorders, bipolar disorder and chronic depression. This therapy is an evidence-based treatment, meaning that it has been proven to be effective in research trials. DBT Skills Training is a component of DBT which focuses on teaching coping skills to deal with life situations, including feelings and thoughts that trigger self destructive decisions and behaviors. Dr. Linehan looked at the differences between people who go through life problems and are stronger and those who go through life problems and suffer greatly. She identified some core skills that the people who thrive used that the people who suffer did not use and then developed a program to teach these skills.

DBT Skills Training is taught in groups . There are four basic modules to be taught, each a skill area to be practiced. There are weekly homework assignments . The four basic skill areas are Mindfulness, Interpersonal Effectiveness, Emotion Regulation, and Distress Tolerance.

1: Reduce and then eliminate self destructive behaviors, such as shopping too much, cutting, avoidance, raging, etc.

2. Reduce and then eliminate behaviors that interfere with treatment and therefore recovery (not attending sessions, not completing homework, dropping out of therapy

3. Decreasing behaviors that destroy the quality of life (depression, phobias, eating disorders, no friends, poor work attendance).

4. Learn skills that help people do the following:

a. Control their attention, so they stop worrying about the future or obsessing about the past and increase awareness of the “present moment” , so that they learn more and more about what makes them feel good or feel bad.

b. Start new relationships, improve current ones or end bad ones

c. Understand what emotions are, how they function, and how to experience them in a way that is not overwhelming

d. Tolerate emotional pain without resorting to self harm or self destructive behaviors