Are you suffering from a borderline personality disorder (BPD) or having self-harming and suicidal thoughts? If yes, then this therapy is for you. Dialectic behavioral therapy (DBT) is a type of talk therapy based on cognitive behavioral therapy to treat people who experience emotions very intensely that alter their thoughts and behaviors. It is used to treat people with borderline personality disorder (BPD), but it can also be used to treat other mental health conditions such as depression, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), substance abuse disorder, certain eating disorders such as binge eating or bulimia, self-harm, and suicidal behavior. Visit the best Mental Health Clinic in Brooklyn at Doral Health & Wellness or log on to www.doralhw.org. 

Learn how this therapy works and the pros and cons of DBT therapy in this article. 

How does it work?  

The main goal of using this therapy is to create a balance between acceptance of who you are, your challenges, and the benefits of change. Your therapist also helps you learn new skills to improve emotion regulation.  

While the structure of DBT can vary from therapist to therapist, in general, it follows these 4 types of sessions:  

• DBT pre-assessment: In this assessment, your therapist asks you some questions and explains how DBT works, to see how suitable DBT is for you. If you choose that DBT is the right therapy for you, then they ask for your commitment to the treatment and length of treatment.
• Individual DBT therapy: These therapy sessions happen weekly with your therapist, and each session lasts about 40 to 60 minutes. These therapy sessions have these goals:

• • To keep you safe by removing or reducing your suicidal and self-harming thoughts and behaviors, if applicable.  

• • It can limit your behaviors that come in the way of productive therapy.  
  • It helps you to reach your goals by improving your quality of life by addressing the issues that block your progress, including mental health conditions and relationship issues.  
  • To help you learn new skills to replace bad or unhelpful behaviors.  

Your therapist may ask you to keep a diary to track your emotions and actions and to look at the patterns of your behavior. You need to bring a diary with you during your sessions. So that you and your therapist decide what to work on for each session.  

• DBT skills training in groups: In these sessions, you learn the skills in a group setting. Keep in mind, it is not similar to group therapy in which you discuss your problems with others, it is more like a teaching and learning session in a classroom setting. These skills aim to enhance your capabilities in day-to-day life, the four main skills you learn in these sessions are:  
  • Mindfulness: It is a practice of being fully aware and focused on the present instead of worrying about your past and future.  
  • Distress tolerance: This can help you understand and manage your emotions in difficult and stressful situations without responding to harmful behaviors.  
  • Interpersonal effectiveness: This skill can help you understand how to ask for what you want and need, in setting boundaries while maintaining respect for yourself and others.  
  • Emotion regulation: It can increase your understanding, awareness, and control over your emotions.  
• Telephone crisis teaching: This teaching helps to support you in your daily life which means you call your therapist at certain times for support between sessions. For example, when you need help for an immediate crisis, such as wanting to self-harm, or you want some advice on the skill you learned. However, your therapist will also set some boundaries about when you can call them, like at a certain range of time during the day or night. This teaching is only used on the needed basis of the patients; it cannot replace your other therapy sessions. 

Want to know the treatment options for behavioral health disorders? Call us at 718-DORAL-55, 1-347-384-5690 to get a consultation. If you need help learning coping methods, register your information and make direct contact with our doctors and psychiatrists to learn those methods, log on to www.doralhw.org. Doral Health and Wellness has the best Doctors and Psychiatrists that specialize in Behavioral Health, make accurate diagnoses, and craft tailored treatment programs. Visit us at 1797 Pitkin Avenue, Brooklyn, NY 11212.