Dialectical Behavior Therapy

Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) is a cognitive behavioral treatment that was originally developed to treat chronically suicidal individuals diagnosed with borderline personality disorder (BPD) and it is now recognized as the gold standard psychological treatment for this population. In addition, research has shown that it is effective in treating a wide range of other disorders such as substance dependence, depression, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and eating disorders. Psychcentral.com characterizes DBT as

• Support-oriented: It helps a person identify their strengths and builds on them so that the person can feel better about him/herself and their life.
• Cognitive-based: DBT helps identify thoughts, beliefs, and assumptions that make life harder: “I have to be perfect at everything.” “If I get angry, I’m a terrible person” & helps people to learn different ways of thinking that will make life more bearable: “I don’t need to be perfect at things for people to care about me”, “Everyone gets angry, it’s a normal emotion.
• Collaborative: It requires constant attention to relationships between clients and staff. In DBT people are encouraged to work out problems in their relationships with their therapist and the therapists to do the same with them. DBT asks people to complete homework assignments, to role-play new ways of interacting with others, and to practice skills such as soothing yourself when upset. These skills, a crucial part of DBT, are taught in weekly lectures, reviewed in weekly homework groups, and referred to in nearly every group. The individual therapist helps the person to learn, apply and master the DBT skills

And WebMD explains how DBT works:

Comprehensive DBT focuses on four ways to enhance life skills:

• Distress tolerance: Feeling intense emotions like anger without reacting impulsively or using self-injury or substance abuse to dampen distress.
• Emotion regulation:Recognizing, labeling, and adjusting emotions.
• Mindfulness: Becoming more aware of self and others and attentive to the present moment.
• Interpersonal effectiveness: Navigating conflict and interacting assertively.

At Triumph, Dialectical Behavior Therapy is provided in conjunction with Individual and Group Psychotherapy for many of the students. Clinicians that are trained to specialize in DBT incorporate DBT therapeutic principles and practices into their daily therapeutic services. Studies show that DBT is a highly effective type of therapy. It helps students deal with their emotional issues and teaches them to increase skill building in order to solve problems by creating solutions. Lastly it teaches students how to apply these skills to their everyday life. DBT is effective in treating Reactive Attachment Disorder (RAD), Eating Disorders, Substance Abuse and Self-Harming behaviors.