Dialectical behavior therapy (DBT) is a cognitive-behavioral therapy designed to allow individuals to live in the present and enjoy the moment. A dialectical behavior therapy program will also work to develop healthy ways to manage and cope with stressful situations, find balance within emotions, and ultimately improve relationships between individuals and their family, friends, and co-workers. Learn about how DBT and addiction treatment are linked by contacting us online or calling 781.412.1488 today to discuss how A Better State’s dialectical behavior therapy may be able to help you heal, learn, and overcome your addiction.
What Is DBT?
DBT was pioneered in the 80s to treat borderline personality disorder. Today at A Better State, as you wonder what dialectical behavior therapy is, you will quickly learn that this therapy methodology has proven effective in assisting a variety of people overcome several issues, including:
- Addiction
- Eating disorders
- Substance use disorders
- PTSD
- Depression
- Other mental health conditions
What Does DBT and Addiction Treatment Look Like?
Dialectical behavior therapy will most likely involve a mix of therapies and skill-building sessions. In DBT and addiction treatment, you will encounter individual, one-on-one therapy with a trained medical professional therapist that will work to ensure all of your needs are met. Additionally, you can expect to receive DBT skill building in a group therapy environment that promotes vulnerability, openness, and shared learning among other individuals walking a similar path toward recovery. Being in group therapy during your DBT and addiction treatment will help to keep you motivated and allow you to learn how you will best make use of and utilize the dialectical behavior therapy skills in the future in your daily life. One of the answers to What DBT is is that it’s a therapy method to help you overcome the obstacles you may encounter both in treatment and outside of the therapy sessions.
A Better State uses DBT and addiction treatment to focus on providing you with critical skills in four important areas:
Mindfulness
As a state of active, open attention to being in the present, mindfulness can help you observe thoughts and feelings without judgment and learn to live in the present moment. This is accomplished, in part, with exercises on practicing mindfulness.
Distress Tolerance
Instead of relying on drugs and alcohol to escape persistent negative emotions, distress tolerance in a DBT and addiction treatment will help to increase your tolerance of negative thoughts and feelings.
Emotion Regulation
Intense emotions may have been at the root of your issues that you have been masked with substance use. At A Better State, you will now learn what dialectical behavior therapy is and how its strategies can help you manage and change those emotions to live a healthier and happier life.
Interpersonal Effectiveness
Many patients in a DBT and addiction treatment program struggle with conflict in their relationships. Interpersonal effectiveness is a technique that allows you to communicate with others to maintain your self-respect, be assertive, and strengthen your most important relationships.
The Importance of DBT and Addiction Treatment
Dialectical behavior therapy programs teach people with substance use disorders skills that can encourage and arm them with life-saving strategies to stop using drugs and alcohol. Additionally, DBT focuses on changing behavior, environment, and peer groups. This will help stay clean and sober easier and make a lifelong recovery more possible.
Some of these DBT and addiction treatment strategies will include:
- Encourage you to find safer environments to live your best life
- Teach you the importance of surrounding yourself with supportive friends and family
- Help to remove dangerous triggers from your home and day to day life
- Boost your self-esteem and self-confidence
- Teach coping mechanisms to manage stressful situations
Learn More at A Better State
If addiction has strained your relationships and destroyed aspects of your life, find out more about what is DBT and how addiction treatment can help you to start rebuilding your life and repairing your relationships. Contact us using our secure online form or call us confidentially at 781.412.1488 today.
