DBT-informed therapy
Dialectical behaviour therapy (DBT) is a popular therapy that has been shown to be effective in helping people with a wide range of difficulties. In particular DBT can be helpful for emotion control issues - it was originally developed for women with borderline personality disorder. DBT has also been adapted for working with adolescents, people with unhelpful habits, and families.
What is DBT?
DBT is a cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) which balances a focus on change and problem solving with acceptance and validation. The main focus therefore in DBT is to balance acceptance and change in terms of how an individual sees themselves, how the therapist treats the person, and how they work together to address the issues they are experiencing.
How does it differ from DBT-informed therapy?
At First Psychology, we offer DBT-informed therapy which is a one-to-one therapy for clients with a range of issues such as those associated with borderline personality disorder (sometimes also called emotionally unstable personality disorder).
This is not ‘standard DBT’ - which is an intensive therapy, delivered in teams and comprising individual therapy, group skills training, telephone skill coaching and weekly team consultation meetings - but is CBT with as many elements of DBT integrated into it as possible.
The DBT-informed therapy offered at First Psychology comprises individual therapy sessions, individual skills training (integrated into the weekly therapy session) and telephone skills coaching.
While this therapy is not 'standard DBT', it is organised on the same philosophical and treatment principles, structured in the same way, and contains the same skills training modules.
Does it work?
While most research has focused on 'standard DBT' there has been some promising research suggesting that DBT skills training plus intensive case management can also be helpful for some people and research continues to explore which parts of standard DBT might be helpful and in what ways.
Contact us
Contact us to find out more about DBT-informed therapy at our centres or to book an appointment with one of our psychologists.