~ Do you have a hard time maintaining healthy boundaries within relationships?
~ Do you deal with your stress in unhealthy ways?
~ Do you want to decrease your self-destructive patterns?
~ Do you often feel like your emotions are out of your control?
~ Do you want to avoid being hospitalized for suicidal thinking or self-harming behavior?
If so, Dialectical Behavior Therapy (D.B.T.) may be exactly what you need to learn the appropriate skills to help you create a “life worth living.”
What Is It?
Dialectical Behavior Therapy or D.B.T. is a comprehensive model designed to help clients:
- Be more self aware
- Manage chaotic relationship
- Decrease self harming or suicidal behavior
- Tolerate stressful situations
- Feel more in control of their emotions
- Learn skills to decrease impulsive or destructive behaviors
Dialectical Behavior Therapy (D.B.T.) was originally created by Marsha Linehan as a model to work with chronically suicidal clients who were suffering from Borderline Personality Disorder (B.P.D.). Dr. Linehan combined the core components of her training in behaviorism or Cognitive Behavior Therapy (C.B.T.) with the spiritual component of mindfulness and meditation. After years of research, Dr. Linehan was able to conclude that this model demonstrated significant improvement in emotion regulation, impulse control, and relationship skills. The model has been expanded to work with multiple diagnoses ranging from Generalized Anxiety Disorder (G.A.D.) to Substance Abuse (S.A.). The model has also been modified to work with adolescents. For more information please check out Marsha Linehan’s website at http://behavioraltech.org/resources/whatisdbt.cfm
My Approach
As a Dialectical Behavior Therapy (D.B.T.) trained therapist, I always try to balance acceptance for my clients and validation for their current issues, while emphasizing the need for change. I focus on teaching and reinforcing the core skills of D.B.T. both in group therapy and in our individual sessions. These skills include:
- Mindfulness: A series of tools to help create awareness and aid the mind into a state of balance. This can be helpful for everyone!!! In particular, those who struggle with insight or experience confusion about who they are and how they feel.
- Distress Tolerance: Skills that are used to tolerate painful events and emotions when you cannot make things better right away. These may include distraction techniques, weighing the pros and cons of a behavior, finding ways to improve the moment, and self soothing. This can be especially helpful for those who struggle with impulsive behavior and/or act out when they are stressed. Examples of acting out may include, self-harming, threats of suicide, substance abuse, anger outburst, self sabotaging, running away, spending sprees, risky sexual behavior, binge eating, etc.
- Emotion Regulation: Skills that are used to empower clients to be in control of their own emotions rather than allowing emotions to run their lives. The goal is to teach clients about the body brain connection, reduce emotional vulnerability, reduce emotional suffering, and increase positive goals. This can be especially helpful for those who feel out of control of their moods.
- Interpersonal Effectiveness: Skills designed to help clients ask for what they want or need, say no to unwanted requests, and maintain healthy boundaries in relationships. All of these skills are prioritized by the clients needs, their concern for the relationship, and their need for dignity and self respect. This is especially helpful for those who are either too passive or too aggressive within relationships causing personal and interpersonal problems.
- Walking the Middle Path: This module is ONLY for adolescents and their family. This module breaks down the concepts of dialectics, validation and behaviorism in a way that parents and adolescents can find more balance in their relationship. This module teaches skills for discipline and addresses common dilemmas that come up in families with teens.
What To Expect
Dialectical Behavior Therapy (D.B.T.) is a behavioral therapy and clients must be willing to learn new skills and try new behaviors to improve their lives. The therapy typically includes 2 hours of weekly skills group and 1 hour of weekly individual therapy to optimize treatment outcomes. I am not currently offering group sessions, but am still offering the individual portion of D.B.T. I am happy to develop an individual treatment plan that integrates skills training.
If you are interested or have any questions, please contact me at (720) 606-3202 or joyful.living.counseling@gmail.com
Heather Young, M.A., L.P.C. is licensed therapist who is conveniently located for clients from Greenwood Village, Denver Tech Center, Highlands Ranch, Littleton, Denver, and Englewood.