DIALECTICAL BEHAVIOR THERAPY

Emotional vulnerability can lead people to feel threatened in non-threatening social situations. In dialectical behavior therapy (DBT), the patient and therapist engage in dialogue that builds mindfulness, distress tolerance, emotion regulation, and interpersonal skills. Dialectical behavior therapy incorporates a broad spectrum of strategies such as self-monitoring, individual and group therapy, skills training, and impulse control to help clients manage their emotions and behaviors. This treatment modality is effective in treating a range of psychological concerns that relate to substance use disorder.

When it comes to treating addiction, people greatly benefit from access to effective addiction therapy programs that help them change self-destructive habits. That’s where a dialectical behavior therapy program in Florida can help. With this type of therapy, patients can learn to cope with stress in healthy ways while living in the moment. The goals of DBT include the following:

What Is Dialectical Behavior Therapy?

Dialectical behavior therapy is a type of cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) designed to motivate people to change destructive behaviors and regulate their emotions. Unlike other forms of CBT, though, it focuses more heavily on emotional and social aspects.

How Does DBT Work?

Dialectical behavior therapy can be one of the most successful treatment modalities for people struggling with a range of mental health conditions. It helps people learn how to manage and regulate emotions, interact with others, and control impulses. In addition, taking part in dialectical behavior therapy may help to improve relationships and manage emotions more effectively. At Lakeview Health, you and your therapist will explore the following skills:

Mindfulness

Here, you’ll learn how to be mindful of your feelings and thoughts. You will learn how to recognize your thought patterns, feelings, and behaviors. By identifying them, you are more in control of how you think and react to what’s happening around you. You’ll realize what you are thinking, why, and how to overcome these challenges. You and your therapist will explore the following concepts:

Distress Tolerance

The key here is to learn how to recognize the reality of a situation. When one tries to avoid this, it often leads to suffering. However, you can learn to accept even painful previous events and find yourself overcoming the emotional connection they have.

Interpersonal effectiveness skills teach patients how to be more objective in some situations. In addition, you’ll gain strategies on how to manage the relationships in your life that may bring unfavorable feelings or that make you feel more vulnerable.

Emotion Regulation

In this component, you will learn how to regulate your emotions using various skills. This allows you to identify and label your emotions. This can help to reduce how vulnerable you are to them and help to decrease your emotional suffering. Different types of thinking cause different types of concerns. In dialectical behavior therapy, you and your therapist will work on distinguishing between and building the following elements of the psyche:

Strategies in DBT

A dialectical behavior therapy program in Jacksonville, FL incorporates four main strategies to help people change negative behaviors. The first of them is mindfulness training. This helps patients focus on their present selves and living in the moment. The objective is to offer trauma-informed care and to avoid reliving past mistakes.

Improving distress tolerance is the second strategy of dialectical behavior therapy. As the name suggests, it teaches people how to tolerate stress during a crisis. Learning distress tolerance allows patients to accept current situations and themselves. Four techniques that achieve distress tolerance include:

This type of talk therapy helps many people to overcome the challenges they are facing. Each person’s outcome is different. However, most people find that this program can help you to achieve profound improvements in your life. It may help you to:

Dialectical behavior therapy in the treatment of conditions like anxiety and depression. It can also be effectively used to help in addiction therapy. If you feel as though your life is controlled by your emotions and the way you think and feel, this type of therapy may offer a way around that. A DBT therapy program may be a foundational component of your long-term success in recovery

Build Positive Relationships and Decrease Self-Harm

Dialectical behavior therapy relies on the client-patient relationship to encourage growth and healing. Clients develop new communication techniques, coping skills, and emotional regulation. DBT can help patients make progress in the following areas:

Evidence-Based, Peer-Reviewed Addiction Treatment

By employing evidence-based treatment methods like cognitive-behavioral therapy, medication-assisted treatment, mindfulness and meditation therapy, and dialectical behavior therapy, we help patients build the specific tools they need for long-term addiction recovery. Years of scientific research have proven these methods to be effective. At Lakeview, we strive to constantly improve and offer the highest quality care to our patients in the following programs:

A Safe and Caring Environment

Our staff members at Lakeview work to build strong, supportive relationships with the patients in our care. At Lakeview Health, you’ll find a safe space to work through the underlying causes of substance abuse. In our outpatient and residential treatment programs, patients can focus on their recovery away from the stresses of everyday life. And through group therapy, you’ll find a network of support that can help you maintain sobriety even after leaving our center.