DBT
Dialectical Behavior TherapyStart Shaping Your New Life Today
Helping You Find Success With DBT
Do You Struggle With Interpersonal Relationship Skills?
Anxiety, depression, low self-esteem, relationship issues, trauma and abuse can all impact your ability to communicate effectively with loved ones or colleagues. Perhaps it is difficult for you to say “no” or to ask for what you need. As a result, you may not feel respected at home or work. After completing a project, maybe you immediately feel like you did a terrible job or made a grave mistake. You may also accuse yourself of not doing enough. Regardless of the specifics of high stress, emotionally-charged situations, when confronted with one, it may be difficult for you to relax and analyze your actions. If you are faced with distress in your life, you may feel lost and confused about how to tolerate your emotions.
The good news is that there is hope. Through Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT) you can develop the interpersonal and emotional regulation skills needed to live a more balanced and fulfilling life.
Understanding Dialectical Behavioral Therapy
DBT is a very effective therapy, designed to help you recognize your needs, communicate them effectively and regulate your emotions and behaviors. DBT is based on four primary skill sets: mindfulness, interpersonal relationship skills, emotional regulation skills and how to tolerate distress.
Mindfulness: Mindfulness practices aim to help clients become more present, improve relationships and find more joy in your life. Mindfulness practices set a calm tone to the therapy session, allowing clients to feel in the moment and safe.
Interpersonal Relationship Skills: DBT sessions also teach clients how to improve their interpersonal relationship skills, specifically the best ways to interact with loved ones and colleagues. For example, DBT shows clients how to communicate effectively, recognize when they are not being respected, how to say “no” and ask for what they need.
Emotional Regulation Skills: During DBT sessions, therapists work with clients to develop emotional regulation skills. These skills help clients realize that emotions are like clouds—they will blow over. Even when emotions run high in difficult situations, tailor-made DBT techniques help clients calm themselves and acknowledge that their emotions are designed to tell them that they need to do something.
Tolerating Distress: DBT sessions also helps clients better tolerate distress. The death of a loved one, a disability and trouble at work can take a toll on the mind. DBT sessions aim to teach clients multiple methods of tolerating distress and finding joy in life. Part of tolerating distress also includes how to increase pleasant events in life, be physically active, ask for help and take a break to unwind.
DBT Can Teach You Life-Long Skills To Improve Your Overall Well-Being
In safe, confidential and nonjudgmental sessions your expert Personal Growth Counseling therapist will offer you support and guidance as you start learning, developing and practicing these new DBT skills. No matter your history or current situation, your therapist will tailor these skills to help you build self-esteem and maintain healthy relationships.
Beyond teaching you the primary four skill sets, your DBT therapist can help you identify, explore and address the root causes and triggers to your issues. For instance, if you were abused or neglected as a child, you may have experienced trauma. These early life experiences, as well as others, can shape the way you form interpersonal relationships. By better understanding where your issues stem from, increasing self-awareness and developing healthy coping and living skills, you can begin developing healthier relationships and experience emotional relief.
In sessions, you can also develop greater feelings of self-worth and self-love. You can begin to value yourself and strive for equal relationships in your life. Perhaps you were raised in an environment where it was not accepted to express your anger, which caused you to remain quiet and submissive with your family and in other relationships. Our tailor-made DBT strategies can help you learn to be taken seriously, given respect, regulate your emotions and ask for help when you need it.
Using DBT skills, you can start communicating better with loved ones and colleagues. Together, you and your therapist will establish goals for healthy communication patterns within a defined relationship. Then, you will determine how you want to feel about yourself in this relationship. If you are unsatisfied with how you feel in certain relationships, your therapist will help you learn to value yourself and ask for what you need.
While you may feel overwhelmed by your emotions, you have hope. DBT sessions can help you find your confidence and improve your relationships with loved ones and colleagues.
Maintain Healthy Self-Esteem And Build Strong Relationships With DBT
If you are ready to gain the skills and confidence needed to establish and maintain meaningful connections with others, we invite you to call us for a complimentary 20-minute phone consultation. We’re happy to discuss your needs and to answer questions about our practice and how DBT can help you learn the skills needed for a fulfilling life.