
You find yourself feeling as if everything is happening at once, you’re just overwhelmed, and you don’t know how to cope. You might be navigating big feelings surrounding difficult circumstances. Or, feelings about things that have happened in the past. If you’re drowning in your emotions or struggling with navigating them, then Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT) may be a great treatment option.
At Wellview Counseling in Roswell, GA our therapists support clients that are struggling with big feelings, just like you. You and a therapist at Wellview Counseling can work together to prevent your emotions from leading to unhealthy coping skills so you can regain control of your life and truly build a life worth living.
What is Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT)?
Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT) is a therapy that helps you improve all areas of your life. DBT uses skills such as mindfulness, distress tolerance, interpersonal effectiveness, and emotional regulation to help you live more effectively and more in the moment. It involves learning specific skills and applying them to your daily life.
DBT was first used with clients with borderline personality disorder (BPD) but has now been adapted and proven effective for many other mental health concerns. For example, our therapists regularly use DBT to help people with anxiety, depression, managing big emotions, relationship issues, and communication issues.
DBT May Be Useful When Other Therapies Aren’t
DBT is also a next step if you’ve tried things like Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and are still really struggling. Perhaps working with a therapist before has helped you understand why you need to change some of your behaviors. Yet, you don’t have a good skill set for managing your emotions and behaviors. This is where DBT may be an excellent choice.
Many clients love DBT because it gives you practical solutions. You’re not just talking about why you think or feel or act a certain way. Instead, you’re learning very specific ways to change.
Ways DBT Skills Can Help You
There are four main types of DBT skills and each plays a little different role in helping you.
Mindfulness
It is a popular concept right now. However, mindfulness makes a big difference when it comes to managing big emotions! Therefore, in DBT we call mindfulness skills “core mindfulness skills,” because they are the basis for all other skills. In order to use any skills taught in DBT, you need to be able to do so mindfully.
It’s ok if you find the concept of mindfulness a bit intimidating. Or perhaps you’ve tried to meditate before and found it unhelpful. Maybe you just feel like you can’t be mindful. Don’t worry. DBT teaches mindfulness a little bit differently than you may have heard of it before. You’ll learn a very specific set of mindfulness skills and have plenty of chances to practice with the support of your DBT therapist.
So…how exactly does mindfulness help me?
The goal of mindfulness is for you to focus on the present. In other words, to not think about your past or your future. Most of us tend to think toward the future or dwell on the past instead of being in the present moment. As a therapist, this is one of my favorite techniques when it comes to coping with anxiety as it helps you focus on where you are instead of the future or the past.
Distress Tolerance
We all experience distress and we all have different levels of distress tolerance. During DBT with a DBT therapist, you can practice and improve your distress tolerance. For example, one DBT skill that is used to improve your distress tolerance is distraction. When you’re able to get your mind off any situation that can cause big emotions, you’re able to manage the emotions better. Another Distress Tolerance skill that is used in DBT therapy to increase distress tolerance is radical acceptance. This is when you just accept what is happening and look at it in an unbiased way while still validating any of the emotions that you are having. These are the skills you use in the moment of a crisis and often clients’ favorite skills to learn.
Emotional Regulation
Emotional Regulation skills help you learn to manage your emotions better overall. It’s kind of like turning the dial on your emotions to keep them a bit more consistent. Our therapists at Wellview Counseling in Roswell, GA understand that everyone feels strong emotions when faced with stressful situations, like relationship or communication issues. We use Emotional Regulation skills to help set you up for success so that you are better able to handle those really stressful situations when they do come up.
Interpersonal Effectiveness
Interpersonal Effectiveness skills are all about helping you communicate more effectively in relationships while still respecting others and yourself so that others can help meet your needs. For example, one DBT Interpersonal Effectiveness skill that your therapist may talk about is the DEARMAN skill which gives you a specific way to ask someone for something. Or, say no to another person’s request.
Our DBT and relationship therapists can help you learn to express your needs better. Furthermore, we help you set effective boundaries while keeping the relationship healthy and positive.
Signs DBT Could be the Right Therapy for You
You’re having all of these overwhelming familiar emotions, but you don’t know how to change them. You don’t have to deal with them alone. DBT therapy is a great way to handle big feelings as they come. We find that the people who benefit the most from doing DBT at our counseling practice are those who may be able to articulate what they’re going through but just don’t know how to change their emotions or behaviors. If this sounds like you, your therapist may use DBT to work with you on how to manage your emotions and change them to create healthy coping behaviors.
Wellview Counseling has several DBT trained therapists. However, it’s important to note that we only offer informational DBT. At this time, we do not have a group skills training element as a part of our DBT, so we do not offer “comprehensive DBT.” Additionally, our therapists don’t typically work with patients who are in a critical stage of intervention such as those who are frequently self-harming or actively suicidal.
Begin Working with a DBT Therapist in Roswell, GA
At Wellview Counseling, our therapists understand that managing your emotions is easier said than done, and learning skills to do it can be hard to do alone. We are happy to support you in regulating your big feelings and offer you support in overcoming your negative thought patterns with help from our therapists at our Roswell, GA counseling office. To start DBT therapy, please follow these simple steps:
- Contact Wellview Counseling
- Meet with one of our DBT informed therapists
- Start better managing your emotions and thoughts
Other Therapy Services Offered at Wellview Counseling
DBT-informed therapy is one of the many therapy services that we offer. We also offer therapy for anxiety and depression. Our therapists work with clients experiencing trauma and PTSD as well. In addition to working with adults, the counselors on our team work with children, teens, and young adults too. We offer in-person counseling at our practice located in Roswell, Georgia. And, we can see clients from anywhere in Georgia through online counseling. If you have questions about our services or how therapy can help you, please feel welcome to reach out.