What is DBT?
It is important to realize that therapy is not a one-size-fits-all. Because we are all individuals with a different set of individual needs, there are many different approaches we can take in our journeys toward mental wellness. One therapeutical approach toward becoming mentally well is DBT, or Dialectal Behavioral Therapy. In this article, we are going to unpack the benefits of DBT and how it may be a useful approach for you in your own journey toward mental wellness.
What is DBT?
Dialectical Behavioral Therapy is a talk therapy used to regulate intense emotion by developing a set of coping skills for stress. In the 1980s, the creator of DBT, Marsha Linehan, found that mental wellness was built on two founding truths: first, in order to achieve a meaningful life, one must accept things as they are, and second, the ability to change is necessary for growth and happiness. DBT supports the idea that emotional dysregulation comes from emotional sensitivity mixed with an invalidating environment. In order to combat this dichotomy, DBT uses practices such as Mindfulness, Emotional Regulation, Interpersonal Effectiveness, and Distress Tolerance.
What makes DBT useful?
DBT is an evidence-based practice found to be effective in helping treat a wide variety of mental disorders and symptoms such as depression, anxiety, borderline personality disorder, ADHD, self-harm, suicidal thinking, PTSD, eating disorders, and affect instability. DBT is found to be useful across a person’s age, gender, sexual orientation, or race/ethnicity. It uses components such as Radical Acceptance, or a willingness to experience ourselves and our lives as-is, and Dialectic Thinking, or an ability to hold two opposing beliefs at the same time.
How does DBT relate to the Christian perspective?
DBT falls in line with the Christian worldview in several ways. Christians are called to trust God with the things that happen in their lives. This doesn’t justify that the bad things that happened are right or enjoyable. But instead of fighting against circumstances, which often leads to pain and negative emotions, one can find solace in God and His word and trust His plan for their lives. Habakkuk talks about this as he wrestles with what God is doing and ends his book praising for what He will do in the future, even when the present feels uncomfortable.
Second, Christians are called to love and respect others. DBT teaches interpersonal relationship skills which allow people to interact with others in healthy ways. It helps them to ask for what they need, set healthy boundaries, and treat others with respect. Philippians 4:8 reminds us to be mindful of our thoughts. Learning DBT mindfulness and emotional regulation skills helps people increase their ability to notice their thoughts and how they affect them. Finally, in James, we are called to be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry. Other passages in the Bible talk about handling emotions in healthy ways, including anger, sadness, and anxiety. DBT helps learn distress tolerance skills when feeling overwhelmed and gives the ability to manage those negative emotions in healthy God honoring ways.
What is an example of a practical DBT tool I can use today?
One DBT tool you can use is called TIPP: Temperature, Intense Exercise, Paced breathing, and Paired muscle relaxation. TIPP is a useful skill to utilize when you are upset and need to emotionally regulate yourself by changing your state of being. Using cold water or ice to regulate your body temperature, or tensing up your muscles when breathing in and relaxing them when breathing out are great ways to get yourself back into your body when an uncomfortable emotion presents itself. Then, when you are able to regulate your body, you can have space to ask yourself, “does my emotion and its intensity match the facts of the situation, or simply my assumption of the situation?”. When we can take a step back and look at the bigger picture, it helps us to change and create the smaller pieces that build our reality.
DBT is a powerful and practical tool to combat emotional irregularity. Practicing DBT cannot only help you determine what event triggered your emotions, but also help you interpret your assumptions and beliefs, giving you a chance to redesign your reality.
Listen to this week's podcast entitled: Understanding Therapy: What is DBT?