4 Important Skills to Learn — What Is DBT and How Can You Benefit?

Dialectical behavior therapy (DBT) is an evidence-based therapeutic approach that is a modified type of cognitive behavioral therapy. It teaches clients to cope with stress and negative emotions, become more self-reliant, regulate their emotions, and have healthy, fulfilling relationships with others. It’s an effective treatment for borderline personality disorder (BPD), bipolar disorder, anxiety disorders, eating disorders, substance use disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and many other mental health issues.

Here are the four key skills that DBT sessions work to build and how you benefit from them.

1. Core Mindfulness

One of the most important skills learned in DBT is the practice of mindfulness. It involves paying attention to the present moment, your bodily sensations, and your thoughts and emotions without judging them. Mindfulness offers you the opportunity to take a step back from your pressures at work or worries throughout the day and focus on the here and now.

When you’re able to observe your thoughts, feelings, and sensations without getting caught up in them, you’ll have a better sense of how your body responds to negative situations. Over time, you will also develop more self-acceptance and self-compassion.

2. Distress Tolerance

Learning to tolerate distress is a crucial skill for developing emotional resilience. DBT teaches practical techniques for coping with distressing situations without resorting to unhealthy behaviors. Distress tolerance skills include techniques such as distraction, self-soothing, improving the moment, listing pros and cons, and radical acceptance. Rather than trying to avoid or suppress painful emotions, DBT encourages you to acknowledge them.

By learning to tolerate distress, you can prevent crises, reduce impulsive behavior, and build up your resilience to face life’s inevitable difficulties. Eventually, you’ll have a more positive outlook and find more pleasure in life.

3. Interpersonal Effectiveness

DBT doesn’t just help with introspective skills—it also emphasizes the importance of interpersonal effectiveness so that you can build and maintain healthy relationships with others. Interpersonal effectiveness involves assertiveness, empathy, and active listening. You’ll also work on how to handle conflict in a healthy way. By learning to express your needs and boundaries assertively, you can strengthen your relationships and build intimacy with your partners and loved ones. DBT also teaches strategies for validating others’ experiences and communicating with empathy.

Your mental health can be deeply affected by those around you. When you target your interpersonal effectiveness and actively work to communicate better, your relationships improve. You’ll also be better equipped to handle working with difficult people. By extension, your mental health improves as well.

4. Emotion Regulation

Many people are not taught how to handle their emotions properly in childhood. Typically, these maladaptive behaviors carry on through adulthood. DBT works to undo these deeply ingrained responses. Emotion regulation involves identifying and adjusting the intensity of your emotions.

For example, if you’re feeling a particularly strong emotion (such as anger), take a step back and try to do the opposite of what your mind is telling you. Rather than yelling at your partner, take a walk around the block and breathe deeply. Naming and focusing on your emotions is the first step to changing them.

By learning to regulate your emotions, you can avoid impulsive reactions, make better decisions, and become more emotionally stable. Through techniques such as emotion labeling, opposite action, and self-soothing, you can develop a healthier relationship with your emotions.

Are You Ready to Try DBT?

Some people arrive at DBT because other therapies haven’t worked out. Others struggle with issues that DBT specifically targets. If this sounds like you or you’re drawn to the four core DBT skills, reach out to us today, schedule an appointment, and learn more.

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