Marsha Linehan is a researcher who developed Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT), which is an evidence-based treatment for people who are diagnosed with Borderline Personality Disorder. This is a psychological disorder that affects individuals in the areas of emotion regulation, social interactions, and self-image.
DBT was originally developed to treat people with suicidal ideation, but has since evolved as a treatment for substance abuse, eating disorders, and depression. DBT is currently very popular because it focuses on teaching skills that can help people deal with intense emotions, improve their relationships with others, and manage their own behavior.
Dialectical behavioral therapy, or DBT, is a form of cognitive behavioral therapy developed by Marsha Linehan.
DBT focuses on four key areas: mindfulness, distress tolerance, emotion regulation and interpersonal effectiveness.
First, DBT teaches skills in mindfulness, the practice of being present in the moment without judgment. Mindfulness can help people with intense emotions learn to be more aware and accepting of their feelings instead of judging them as good or bad.
Second, DBT helps clients develop skills in distress tolerance, which helps people tolerate painful situations and sensations while they work towards changing them. Distress tolerance allows people to improve painful situations over time rather than making impulsive decisions that may have negative consequences later.
Third, DBT helps people with intense emotions learn new ways to regulate emotions so they feel less out of control. Emotion regulation techniques help people recognize and change their reactions to overwhelming thoughts and feelings. People can then choose behaviors that suit the situation rather than reacting impulsively.
Finally, DBT teaches interpersonal effectiveness skills that help people achieve their goals in relationships without damaging the relationship in the process. Interpersonal effectiveness skills help people ask for what they need, say no when appropriate and cope with conflict.
Marsha Linehan was the founder of dialectical behavioral therapy (DBT), which is a form of cognitive-behavioral therapy that focuses on helping people learn to regulate their emotions and tolerate distress. DBT combines standard cognitive-behavioral techniques with mindfulness and acceptance practices.
Linehan was especially interested in working with people who have severe difficulties with emotional regulation, self-injury, and suicidal behaviors. DBT includes treatment for the individual as well as for family members and caregivers. It also includes skills training for learning coping mechanisms—such as mindfulness, distress tolerance, interpersonal effectiveness, and emotional regulation—that help clients change their behavior so they can live more constructively in the moment.
DBT is based on the idea that people experience problems when they have difficulty tolerating and regulating intense emotions. This can lead to impulsive behaviors and suicidal thoughts. DBT helps people develop skills to manage these emotions and behaviors.
Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT) was developed in the 1980s by Dr. Marsha Linehan, a psychologist and professor at the University of Washington, as a treatment for Borderline Personality Disorder. In 1991 it was adapted to treat people diagnosed with Bipolar Disorder. Since then it has been used to treat various other disorders.
DBT is based on Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), but it also incorporates mindfulness and dialectics. Mindfulness is a way of thinking that emphasizes being fully present in the moment without judgment. Dialectics is the belief that two opposing ideas can both be true at once.
DBT focuses on teaching patients how to regulate their emotions and tolerate distress, which can help them manage suicidal thoughts and impulses, self-harm behaviors, intense emotions, and issues with interpersonal relationships.
The term dialectical behavioral therapy (DBT) was first coined by Marsha Linehan in the 1980s to describe a new treatment method for borderline personality disorder (BPD). DBT, which is now commonly used as a treatment for many other mental health disorders, is based on the idea that people are doing the best they can with the coping skills they have. In order to become more effective, they must learn those skills.
In Dialectical Behavioral Therapy, patients learn how to create a life worth living by developing skills in four areas: mindfulness, distress tolerance, interpersonal effectiveness, and emotional regulation.
A key component of DBT is the use of dialectics—a word that means “the art or practice of arriving at the truth by the exchange of logical arguments”. In DBT, we find that in order to be most helpful to clients we must embrace two seemingly opposite ideas: validation and change.
Therapists who use DBT do not try to “fix” their clients or tell them that their struggles are not valid. Instead, they accept them as they are and help them improve their lives one skill at a time.