Are you seeking a transformative, effective mindfulness-based therapy to help you regulate your emotions, improve your relationships, and/or decrease episodic suicidal ideation or self-harm? If so, learning dialectical behavior therapy (DBT) through a DBT certified therapist might be the perfect solution for you. At Theravada Mental Health, our Dialectical Behavior Therapy sessions can be incredibly beneficial to treat people have difficult managing their emotions, experience mood disorders, or who experience other types of mental health conditions, allowing them to regain control over their daily lives. DBT can treat people by helping them identify and manage their emotions, develop healthier coping strategies, and learn radical acceptance in order to alleviate a variety of mental health problems. Embrace the transformative power of dialectical behavior therapy and embark on a journey towards a healthier, more fulfilling life!
Our Dialectical behavior therapy therapist in Las Vegas provides a non judgmental environment where their clients can learn self respect, mindfulness practices, how to express their feelings, self acceptance, mitigate their depression, decrease substance use, develop healthy ways, live in the present moment, and live their daily lives with purpose and clarity. Our Clinical staff and Clinical Supervisor understand that life can be complicated, and acceptance in any environment, most importantly in a therapeutic environment, is paramount.
Exploring Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT)
Dialectical behavior therapy, also known as dialectical behavioral therapy, is a life changing approach that helps individuals gain the skills of emotion regulation and mindfulness practices, allowing them to better manage a variety of mental health problems such as suicidal ideation, self harm, and mood disorders. Dialectical behavior therapy is a great form of treatment that incorporates mindfulness practices and cognitive behavioral therapy practices for a variety of mental health problems. It can help manage mood disorders, traits associated with borderline personality disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder, and even depression and anxiety. If you find that intense emotional reactivity often leads to frequent crises and disrupts your everyday functioning, Dialectical behavior therapy might be the ideal solution for you if other treatments haven’t worked.
Key components of Dialectical behavior therapy
At the heart of DBT are three essential components: distress tolerance, emotional regulation, and interpersonal effectiveness, all of which are crucial for successful outcomes. Dialectical behavior therapy can help you increase your motivation and develop your ability to successfully manage any changes in your daily life. By employing core techniques in dialectical behavior therapy you’ll be empowered to learn and implement effective strategies to foster behavioral change and learn radical acceptance for life’s challenges and adjustments.
The philosophy behind Dialectical behavioral therapy (DBT) recognizes that two opposing truths can coexist, forming the foundation of its therapeutic approach. This unique perspective allows dialectical behavior therapy to address relational issues through the emotional and social aspects of treatment, enabling clients to develop a deeper understanding of their emotions and cultivate healthier coping strategies. This philosophy helps to treat people by teaching them skills to regulate their emotions and learn mindfulness practices to approach their emotional thinking with logic and live their life in the healthiest way possible.
Distress tolerance: Distress tolerance in DBT is a vital skill that involves accepting and tolerating difficult emotions without trying to change or avoid them. By developing these skills, individuals can effectively manage difficult situations and regulate emotions. Through practicing deep breathing, using mindfulness training, distraction, self soothing, and radical acceptance, you can build your distress tolerance skills and become more resilient in the face of adversity.
Emotion Regulation: Emotion regulation in DBT is another key component of DBT, teaching clients how to recognize, interpret, and effectively regulate their emotions. Gaining control over our emotions is possible through emotional regulation, which involves managing and modulating our emotional experiences. Dialectical behavior therapy (DBT) offers strategies to help you:
- Identify, understand, and regulate your emotions.
- Gain greater control over your emotions.
- Face life’s challenges.
- Cultivate healthier relationships.
- Improve your mental well being.
By understanding and learning to effectively manage intense emotions, you’ll be better equipped to face life’s challenges, including dealing with other mental health issues and illness, and cultivate healthier relationships, leading to an overall improvement in your mental well being.
Interpersonal Effectiveness: Interpersonal effectiveness in DBT focuses on improving communication and relationship skills. Some ways to improve interpersonal effectiveness include attending weekly meetings for peer support, validation, and encouragement, practicing skills in a supportive setting, and finding motivation through continued practice and improvement. These strategies can help individuals enhance their communication and relationship skills. To improve interpersonal effectiveness, you can develop skills such as:
- Effective communication.
- Active listening.
- Empathy.
- Assertiveness.
- Conflict resolution.
By honing these skills, you’ll become more effective in your interactions with and self respect for others, leading to stronger relationships, improved self esteem, and self image, and enhanced overall well being.
The process of DBT: from assessment to treatment
The DBT process begins with an initial assessment, allowing our therapists to gain insight into your emotional experiences and determine the best course of treatment. Following the initial assessment, clients engage in individual therapy sessions, where they work closely with one of our therapists to address specific emotional challenges and develop coping strategies.
In addition to individual therapy, clients participate in group skills training, where they can learn and practice new skills in a supportive environment. Through the combination of assessment, individual therapy, and group skills training, DBT provides a comprehensive and supportive approach to help individuals manage their emotions and improve their mental health.
By engaging in this structured process commitment therapy, clients can develop the necessary skills to face life’s challenges and cultivate healthier relationships.
Initial Assessment: What you can expect at our Las Vegas based clinic is an initial assessment in DBT which is an essential first step in understanding your needs and developing a personalized treatment plan. During this stage, one of our therapists gather important information about your current situation, symptoms, and treatment goals. This information is then used to create a tailored treatment plan that addresses your unique needs and objectives.
By gaining a deeper understanding of your emotional experiences and goals, our therapists can develop an effective treatment plan that addresses the root causes of their emotional challenges. This personalized approach ensures that you receive the support and guidance you need to achieve lasting change and improved well being.
Individual therapy sessions and Group skills training: Individual therapy sessions in DBT are an integral and crucial part of the treatment process, providing clients with the opportunity to address specific emotional challenges and develop coping strategies. Clients should visit one of our therapists on a weekly basis to discuss their moods, behavior and skills. It is an opportunity for our therapists to provide feedback on progress being made. By engaging in individual therapy sessions, clients can:
- Gain valuable insights into their emotions and thought patterns.
- Develop healthier coping mechanisms.
- Improve emotional regulation.
- Delve deeper into their emotional experiences.
- Receive personalized guidance and support.
Group skills training in DBT provides a supportive environment for clients to learn and practice new skills, such as mindfulness practice, emotion regulation, and distress tolerance. Through this collaborative setting , our therapist can encourage clients to build a sense of community and support, which can be highly beneficial in the long term.
In group skills training, a therapist teaches clients valuable skills that can help them navigate life’s challenges more effectively. By participating in DBT group sessions, clients can develop a strong foundation of skills and support, ultimately leading to lasting change, personal growth and improved mental health.
DBT as an evidence based treatment for mental health disorders
Dialectical behavioral therapy (DBT) is an evidence based treatment for various mental health disorders, including borderline personality disorder, and substance abuse. Through its unique approach to emotion regulation, distress tolerance, and interpersonal effectiveness, dialectical behavioral therapy has demonstrated remarkable results in treating these conditions and helping people develop healthy ways to manage their emotions and behaviors. By addressing the emotional and social aspects of treatment, DBT is able to provide individuals with the tools and support they need to manage their mental health effectively. Whether you’re struggling with:
- Depression
- Bipolar disorder
- PTSD
- Eating disorders
- Suicidal ideation
- Harmful behaviors
- Self harm
- Borderline personality disorder
- Help with managing intense emotions
Dialectical behavioral therapy is highly effective in treating borderline personality disorder (BPD), a mental health condition characterized by:
- Intense fear of abandonment or instability.
- Difficulty tolerating being alone.
- Extreme mood swings.
- Unstable relationships.
- Impulsive, self destructive behaviors.
By focusing on emotional regulation, distress tolerance, and interpersonal effectiveness, DBT empowers clients to manage intense emotions and reduce self destructive behaviors such as self harm and eating disorders.
Through DBT, individuals with BPD can learn to acknowledge and accept their emotions, gain control over them, use healthier coping strategies, and incorporate mindfulness practices which were originally developed to teach people how to use their ‘wise-mind’, marrying together their logical and emotional brains with the primary goals of having a less judgemental perception, thereby mitigating emotionally dysregulated reactions to triggers. As a result, clients can experience significant improvements in their emotional well being, relationships, and overall quality of life. Symptoms associated with depression and anxiety can also be alleviated.
Substance use/abuse
Dialectical behavioral therapy is also beneficial for individuals struggling with substance use and substance abuse and chemical dependency, as it promotes abstinence and minimizes harm through acceptance and change strategies. In the event of relapse, one of our therapists respond with understanding and compassion, helping clients get back on track and continue striving for recovery.
By employing a dialectical approach to abstinence from substance use, DBT recognizes that substance use needs to stop immediately while acknowledging that relapse may occur. This balanced perspective allows clients to:
- Continue working towards their recovery goals.
- Stay motivated and committed to their sobriety.
- Learn from setbacks and challenges.
- Develop strategies to prevent future relapses.
Other personality disorders
By focusing on emotional regulation, distress tolerance, and interpersonal effectiveness, DBT can help clients with these conditions develop healthier coping mechanisms and improve interpersonal relationships. Dialectical behavioral therapy can also be applied to other personality disorders, such as:
- Histrionic personality disorder.
- Narcissistic personality disorder.
- Antisocial personality disorder.
- Obsessive compulsive personality disorder.
- Paranoid personality disorder.
- Schizotypal personality disorder.
Whether you’re grappling with the intense emotions of borderline personality disorder or the social anxiety of schizotypal personality disorder, DBT offers a key element to managing these needs with a proven, evidence based approach to help you manage your condition and achieve lasting change.
Comparing DBT with cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT)
Both DBT and CBT are evidence based therapies that focus on helping clients develop healthier thought patterns and coping strategies. While they share many similarities, such as their emphasis on modifying negative thoughts and behaviors, improving emotional regulation, and incorporating mindfulness techniques, there are also distinct differences in their focus and techniques.
DBT places a greater emphasis on emotional regulation, distress tolerance, and interpersonal effectiveness, while CBT’s key element primarily focuses on cognitive restructuring and problem solving. By understanding these differences, clients can choose the therapy that best aligns with their unique needs and treatment goals, such as cognitive processing therapy.
Similarities: Both DBT and CBT focus on helping individuals recognize and modify negative or dysfunctional thoughts, beliefs, and behaviors and emphasize the importance of emotional regulation and coping skills. Additionally, both CBT and DBT involve a collaborative therapeutic relationship between the therapist and the client, incorporating mindfulness techniques to increase self awareness and advance acceptance.
Differences: While DBT and CBT share many similarities, there are key differences in their approaches to addressing emotional and behavioral issues. DBT focuses more on the emotional and social aspects of treatment, emphasizing validation and relationships, and teaching individuals to accept their experiences and themselves through a mindfulness practice. In contrast, CBT focuses on how thoughts, feelings, and behavior influence each other and encourages clients to change negative thinking patterns and their behaviors.
Summary
In conclusion, dialectical behavior therapy (DBT) is a powerful, evidence based treatment option for individuals seeking to improve their emotional regulation, distress tolerance, and interpersonal effectiveness. Through its unique approach and emphasis on emotional and social aspects, DBT offers clients the tools and guidance they need to overcome various mental illness disorders, including borderline personality disorder, serious substance use and abuse, and other personality disorders. Call to schedule an appointment with one of our Las Vegas based therapists today!
Katie Davis, a Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW) for over 12 years, has always been passionate about advocating for people, particularly women, who are stigmatized because of their mental health needs. She instills a sense of self-advocacy, helping her clients fill in their internal voids through inner-child and shadow work which are effective tools for healing past traumas. Katie is passionate about connecting with her group members and providing them with a sense of self-advocacy and inner strength. Katie helps her clients overcome their difficulties, handle their grief, work on skills to handle their symptoms, and/or process their trauma, all with compassion and empathy. She believes in the importance of building a supportive and therapeutic relationship with each client to address their individualized needs, routinely incorporating DBT and mindfulness-based stress reduction in her practice.
She is passionate about working with individuals, specifically women, who have experienced or are struggling with Personality Disorders, involvement within the sex industry, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), complex trauma from domestic violence or sexual assault, depression, anxiety, psychosis, grief, anger management, chronic impulsivity, divorce, infidelity, life transitions, mood disorders, obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), relationship issues, women’s issues, and survivors of human trafficking.
Katie has also completed training to become a specialist with women and men experiencing borderline personality traits, and she provides Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) for groups and individuals. She acquired her LCSW license after obtaining two graduate degrees, and she subsequently went on to obtain certifications in Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT), Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing Therapy (EMDR), and Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT).
Frequently asked questions
How many sessions is typical for DBT?
DBT includes weekly individual therapy sessions and a 24 week long course with 2.5 hour group sessions each week. This commitment of time can lead to lasting positive effects, with many patients returning to retake the program.
What is dialectical behavior therapy (DBT)?
Dialectical behavior therapy (DBT) is an evidence based practice that helps individuals develop skills to effectively manage emotional distress, improve their relationships, and reduce self destructive behavior. This is accomplished, in part, by implementing mindfulness practices, learning to healthily express feelings, learning acceptance of self and others, self respect, and incorporating DBT and cognitive behavioral practices in a variety of ways.
It is a type of cognitive behavioral therapy that focuses on helping individuals identify and change negative thought patterns and behaviors. DBT is behavior therapy based on the idea that individuals can learn to regulate their emotions and behaviors as well as work toward self acceptance in their daily life in order to live a more balanced and fulfilling life.