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Dialectical behavior therapy (DBT) is a specialized form of cognitive-behavioral therapy. It was originally developed to treat adults and adolescents demonstrating intense mood swings; relationship difficulties; frantic efforts to avoid abandonment; confused thinking; impulsive behavior; and recurrent suicidal behaviors including suicidal ideation, intentional self-injury, and history of multiple suicide attempts. DBT has also demonstrated success in treating any impulsive or “out-of–control” behavioral problems including eating disorders and addictions. In research, DBT has been shown to reduce the number of suicide attempts, number and length of stay of psychiatric hospitalizations, and to improve overall quality of life. DBT considers the primary problem to be a combination of emotional vulnerability and an inability to regulate emotional responses. Ongoing “emotion dysregulation” negatively impacts a person’s ability to function in personal relationships, to develop coping skills, to think clearly in highly stressful situations, and to hold on to a sense of self. Problem behaviors such as substance abuse and deliberate self-harm are often found among people with intense, extremely painful emotions that are difficult to regulate. These behaviors are thought of as providing an “escape,” but in reality they interfere with perception, wise thinking, and skillful problem solving. The focus in DBT treatment is on accepting where a person’s at, while providing behavioral skills specifically designed to help them overcome their emotional vulnerability and to build the life they’ve always wanted. |
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