Psychotherapy: Focus on Dialectical Behavioral Therapy
Medications alone are rarely sufficient to propel you to your best life. The scope and variety available through mental health service offerings can be confusing and appear contradictory, even for us professionals.
This is why I am passionate about helping clients understand the limitations of medication, and learn about non-medication based services that may augment your care.
To this end, I recommend Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT) skills training to many of my clients, to address emotional regulation or interpersonal difficulties.
The core areas of focus in DBT skills training include mindfulness, distress tolerance, emotion regulation, and interpersonal effectiveness.
Mindfulness: This aspect teaches individuals to be present in the moment and develop an awareness of their thoughts, feelings, and surroundings without judgment. This skill is crucial for self-awareness and grounding, helping individuals to break free from automatic, often negative, thought patterns.
Distress Tolerance: DBT helps in coping with painful emotions in a healthy and non-destructive way. Distress tolerance skills are particularly beneficial for individuals who experience intense emotional responses, providing them with tools to survive crisis situations without worsening them.
Emotion Regulation: This involves understanding and naming emotions, and learning to manage and change intense emotions that are causing problems in a person's life. Emotion regulation skills are key to reducing emotional vulnerability and increasing positive emotional experiences.
Interpersonal Effectiveness: DBT also focuses on improving relationships through assertiveness and interpersonal problem-solving. These skills help individuals to communicate their needs and boundaries effectively, maintain relationships, and manage conflicts.
By developing these skills, individuals can achieve greater emotional stability, improved relationships, and a better quality of life. DBT is often used to treat borderline personality disorder, but its skills are broadly applicable and can benefit anyone seeking to improve their emotional and interpersonal functioning.