Dialectical Behavioral Therapy

Recent research has shown that dialectical behavior therapy (DBT) is one of the first therapies that has demonstrated to be effective for treating borderline personality disorder as well as being effective in treating people who display varied symptoms and behaviors associated with mood disorders, including self-injury. IDTC deals with these various disorders and behaviors and has implemented DBT techniques for treatment.

DBT combines standard cognitive-behavioral techniques for emotion regulation and reality-testing with concepts of mindful awareness, distress tolerance, and acceptance. DBT is the first therapy that has been experimentally demonstrated to be effective for treating Bipolar Disorder (BPD).

The key elements of DBT are conventional behavioral therapy and cognitive therapy, along with its signature concepts of dialectics and mindfulness. Dialectical thinking is introduced as an alternative to intense, polarized emotions. Rather than reacting to events as either perfect or unbearable, a person is encouraged to recognize multiple viewpoints and bring them "into dialogue." Mindfulness is taught as a method for becoming aware of one's actual, realistic experience and separating it from fears about the future or rumination about events about the past.