Time limited therapy (unclear on appropriate treatment length 6-12m)

learning skills to manage emotions and relationships more effectively. The goal of treatment is to assist patients to manage problematic thinking patterns, emotions and ineffective behaviours.

response rate of 75%

based on the idea that life is full of opposites, and that these contradictions can cause distress.

DBT helps patients learn that two opposing things can still be true at the same time (by using the term 'and' instead of 'but').

Additionally, DBT encourages patients to accept these apparent opposites through acceptance and change.

By embracing contradictory ideas in life and changing them into dialectical statements, it allows us to move away from extremes in thinking and behaviour.

eg:

• An emotion can be valid and not helpful at the same time
• I can strongly believe in a thought and that thought may not be true
• You can love someone and be angry at them at the same time
• Experiencing life can lead to pain and despair and experiencing life can lead to joy and meaning

Skills

1. Emotion regulation
2. Interpersonal effectiveness
3. Distress tolerance