About DBT
Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT) is an evidenced-based therapy that was designed to support people with challenges in regulating intense emotions, including those with borderline personality disorder. DBT has proven to be effective for people with other mental health struggles and diagnoses, such as anxiety, depression, anger, substance use, self-harm and suicidal behaviour. When offered in its comprehensive format DBT includes individual psychotherapy, skills group training and phone coaching.
Would I benefit from DBT?
If you've had any of the following experiences DBT may be suitable for you:
🔹 You experience unstable emotions that rapidly cycle between anxiety, anger, sadness and shame, and these emotions are long-lasting.
🔹 Your emotions seem to take control, causing you to act impulsively in unhelpful ways, without consideration of the consequences of your actions.
🔹 Your emotions interfere with your quality of life and impact your relationships, including with friends, family, romantic partners or colleagues.
🔹 You experience repeated conflicts and instability in your relationships that lead to feelings of abandonment, rejection or loneliness.
🔹 You don't trust others or are afraid that your loved ones will leave or abandon you.
🔹 You experience ongoing self-criticism, a lack of confidence and feelings of inadequacy.
🔹 You have an unstable sense of who you are, what your values are and what you want in life.
🔹 You struggle to use effective coping strategies and end up making poor decisions in an attempt to alleviate your emotions.
By participating in DBT your therapist will help you learn to identify the causes of these emotional, mental and behavioural patterns that interfere with you being at your best and learn the skills that will improve your capacity to cope with these difficulties.
Do I need DBT?
Our team will do a thorough assessment of your mental health history and therapy goals to determine the best fit for your therapy. The options for your therapy may include:
Comprehensive DBT
This involves all aspects of DBT, including individual therapy, skills group and phone coaching. We suggest this to promote best outcomes and achieve lasting change in symptoms.
DBT-Informed
This includes some aspects of DBT, typically only those that appear to be most needed. This may be suitable for those with less severe mental health difficulties.
Alternative Therapy
We offer more than just DBT. If we determine that you are better suited for another type of therapy, we'll adapt the therapy to meet your specific needs.
What coping skills will I learn?
Many people struggle with intense emotions because they either don't have the necessary coping skills or don't know how to effectively use their skills when experiencing volatile emotions. Some people struggle to skillfully navigate difficult situations and will rely on unhelpful ways of coping that might relieve their distress in the short-term (i.e. aggression, avoidance, substance use, self-harm) that create long-term consequences. In DBT we teach four categories of skills to help you gain more control of your life including:
Mindfulness
Skills that enhance present moment focus, reduce judgmental thoughts, increase self-compassion and create greater discernment when making decisions.
Distress
Tolerance
Skills that help to reduce intense emotions and accept the reality during distressing moments, so that you can get through overwhelming situations by tolerating the distress rather than avoiding it.
Emotion
Regulation
Skills that increase your capacity to acknowledge and accept your emotions, reduce unpleasant emotions (i.e. anxiety, anger, shame) and increase the frequency of pleasant ones.
Interpersonal Effectiveness
Skills that improve relationships, communication and interactions with others, while enhancing your ability to navigate challenging interpersonal situations.
Effective
DBT is a widely researched psychotherapy treatment that's proven to be effective for a range of mental health concerns.
Convenient
Long wait times can often make DBT inaccessible. We provide quick and easy access to virtual therapy right in the comfort of your chosen space.
Affordable
Cost barriers tend to limit access to DBT. We offer DBT that's reasonably and competitively priced.