Use a specific dialect for treatment
Dialectical behavioral therapy (DBT) is a form of cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT). Like other forms of CBT, DBT is a pragmatic form of talking therapy that helps patients to understand the impact of their thoughts and intervene to change them for the better.
What makes DBT unique is its combination of aspects of mindfulness. As well as helping you to improve your thought processes, you learn to accept them. DBT is very successful for helping foster radical self-acceptance and vital skills in emotional regulation and helps people deal with a range of mental health conditions.
The History of Dialectical Behavioral Therapy
Before the 1980s, psychotherapists used cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) as their main form of treatment for mental health conditions for patients with borderline personality disorder; but it was not always very effective.
DBT was developed by Dr. Marsha Linehan and her colleagues to help improve the outcome of therapy for these patients by helping them to not only improve their thoughts and behaviors, but also manage difficult feelings.
It is now used by psychotherapists to treat a range of psychological problems due to its unparalleled ability to provide practical support and tangible change for people experiencing a range of emotional difficulties.
How GIA Miami Uses DBT
Mindfulness is a core component of DBT. It helps you to be fully present in your body and life by aiding your focus and promoting radical self-acceptance. Building up these skills helps patients to tolerate emotional pain without reverting to unhealthy coping mechanisms.
Examples of simple mindfulness exercises include:
- Controlled breathing
- Walking meditations
- Body scan meditations
Dialectical behavioral therapy is one of the most widely used forms of talking therapy in America due to its high success rates. Benefits of DBT include:
- It is a time-limited therapy – it has a definite beginning and end point, making it easy to plan around and combine with other forms of treatment
- It is versatile and focuses on dealing with specific problems that clients face
- Clients can see improvements in their well-being from early on in treatment
- It helps clients to improve their mood and actions
- It promotes self-soothing and tolerance of difficult emotions
How Can CBT Improve Your Life
CBT can help you improve your life and mental being in many ways, including:
- Helping you to build core skills in emotional regulation. DBT can help you to accept your emotions as they happen and give you the skills you need to hold steady during difficult times and weather life’s storms.
- Nurturing new practical skills. DBT is a practical therapy that can help you to learn new techniques that you can use to find peace and calm.
- Overcoming mental difficulties. Research shows that DBT is very successful in helping people overcome a range of different mental difficulties.
What Does DBT Help With?
GIA Miami employs CBT therapy to treat a range of different problems and mental health conditions.
Since Dr. Linehan first developed DBT to treat BPD in the 1980s, psychotherapists have used the ground-breaking technique to successfully treat a range of conditions, including:
GIA have seen incredibly positive results in using CBT to treat conditions including:
- Generalized anxiety disorder
- Eating disorders
- Depression
- Self-harm
- Substance use disorders including addiction
- Post-traumatic stress disorder
- Bipolar disorder
- Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder
Different Forms Of DBT
There are a range of different forms through which therapists deliver DBT. Each has its own strengths; you and your therapist will discuss the form which is most likely to work for you.
Psychotherapists provide DBT through:
- Individual therapy, where the patient meets the therapist one-on-one to work through specific skills, which the therapist adapts to the patients’ individual needs and life situation.
- Phone coaching, in which a therapist provides individual guidance over the phone. Phone coaching is often delivered in combination with individual face-to-face therapy, such as between visits or when a patient is having a particularly difficult time.
- Group therapy is where a psychotherapist leads the coaching sessions with a group of patients. The patients may know each another prior to the session, as in family therapy, or share a similar problem, as in support groups for people struggling with addiction.
How GIA Miami Uses DBT
GIA Miami’s treatment programs are tailored to the specific needs of each individual client. We use a range of evidence-based treatments in conjunction with DBT to achieve the best results. Specialist therapists deliver DBT through a compassionate and structured course led by the needs of the client.
This can include aspects of individual therapy and group sessions. Our expert practitioners combine DBT with other forms of intervention, such as TMS, to help clients overcome difficulties in their lives and mental health.
