DBT assumes that people who grew up in challenging circumstances may not have had the opportunity to learn skills to manage their emotions and their relationships with others. Additionally, it may be that the strategies that they have learned in order to be able to cope are creating other problems in their life (eg: drug or alcohol abuse, gambling, binge eating, shopping, pornogrpahy, sex, reckless driving, scrolling, gaming.
DBT is a program designed to address skills deficits. The skills taught in DBT aim to help people that struggle with intense emotions and to apply these skills in all the relevant areas of their life. DBT is about balancing the support that people need in therapy, with practical ways to make changes so that you can live your life according to your values.
To do this, DBT has four overarching goals:
To teach emotional regulation
To improve interpersonal effectiveness
To increase distress tolerance
And to further develop mindfulness and self-awareness
DBT empowers people to accept themselves, regulate their emotions, and build a life worth living.
DBT: Not Just For BPD
DBT is a gold standard treatment for Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) but here at DBTBrisbane we don’t insist on this diagnosis. We know that there are a wider range of diagnoses and people that can benefit from DBT.
Do I need to have Borderline Personality Disorder to receive DBT?
DBT has been studied and shown to be effective for people with Major Depression, non-suicidal self injury, other personality disorders, ADHD, PTSD related to childhood, Bipolar Disorder, Binge Eating Disorder, Bulimia Nervosa and Substance Use Disorder.
DBT was one of the first treatments to deliberately focus on life threatening self-harming and suicidal behaviours. DBT also targets anything that is getting in the way of people experiencing their life as a life worth living.
We know that mental health diagnosis can be complex, can overlap or change, and are not always indicative of how much a person is struggling.
When we first meet with people who are interested in our DBT program we are focused on three key questions:
Is emotion regulation an underlying issue?
Do you need the intensity of our program?
Is DBT the right fit for you?