DBT (Dialectical Behavior Therapy)

Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) is an evidence-based approach originally developed for emotion regulation and now used to help a wide range of clients who experience intense emotions, impulsivity, self-harm urges, or relationship difficulties. The word “dialectical” points to the heart of the work: holding two truths at once — that you are doing the best you can, and that you can learn to do things differently.

DBT is built around four core skill sets. Mindfulness helps you stay present and observe your thoughts and feelings without being swept away by them. Distress tolerance gives you concrete tools to get through crisis moments without making them worse. Emotion regulation helps you understand, name, and shift the intensity of difficult feelings. And interpersonal effectiveness builds the skills to ask for what you need, set boundaries, and maintain relationships without losing yourself.

Rather than treating intense emotions as a problem to be eliminated, DBT treats them as information and teaches a toolkit for working with them. Sessions often blend individual therapy with skills practice, and clients frequently describe DBT as the first approach that gave them something concrete to do when they feel overwhelmed.