Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) was developed in the late 1980s by Dr. Marsha Linehan and colleagues. It is a strength-based model that teaches how to live in the moment, develop healthy ways to cope with stress, regulate emotions, and improve relationships with others. The techniques used in DBT focus on the following skillset: mindfulness, distress tolerance, emotional regulation and interpersonal effectiveness.
Mindfulness skills help you slow down and focus on using healthy coping skills when you are in the midst of emotional pain. The strategy can also help you stay calm and avoid engaging in automatic negative thought patterns and impulsive behavior.
Distress tolerance skills help you develop tools to better manage and tolerate distress without engaging in negative or destructive behavior. This skillset improves the ability to tolerate hearing "no" or being disappointed.
Emotional Regulation helps to improve impulse control and delay responding to a stressful situation, where you choose to engage in a behavior instead of merely reacting to it and being on an autopilot.
Interpersonal Effectiveness assists with building healthy and respectful relationships where you learn how to effectively balance your needs with the needs of others. This is an empowering skillset that helps you to effectively communicate and deal with challenging people in your life.
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