DBT Associates of Nyack
Call us at: (845) 358-0919
What is Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT)?
Developed during the 1980s by Dr. Marsha Linehan, DBT is a therapeutic approach designed to treat adults and adolescents with emotion dysregulation, interpersonal conflict, impulsivity, identity confusion, self-injurious behaviors and suicidality.
DBT combines cognitive behavioral therapy that emphasizes “change” with Mindfulness practice that emphasizes “Acceptance”. A unique aspect of DBT treatment is it’s compassionate and realistic approach to daily problems of living.
The focus of DBT treatment is on learning the skills necessary to cope with intense, often painful emotions, and learning to manage behavioral responses effectively. These skills are presented in the Skills Training Group, which is more like a class than a
“group”. In individual sessions, patient and therapist tailor specific skills to specific life circumstances to achieve therapeutic goals.
What does DBT look like?
A comprehensive DBT program consists of four elements:
Individual Therapy
Therapist and Client work together to improve patients' self-acceptance and quality of life; to generalize skills learned in Skills Training Group, to decrease maladaptive behaviors, and to improve problem solving. Therapist and Patient collaborate to help the Patient to achieve individual goals.
Skills Training
Our patients learn and practice skills to better identify and manage their emotions, control their impulses, handle difficult life events, improve their ability to interact effectively with others and gain greater ability to make positive rather than self-destructive choices in their lives. It is a weekly course provided in a small group of 3-8 participants. Skills Training Groups are semi-open with admission occurring at the beginning of each skills module.
Skills training consists of four modules:
- Core Mindfulness - helps to avoid impulsive and mood-dependent behaviors through developing awareness of self and the moment, and a nonjudgmental stance on reality. Mindfulness is also critical for relapse prevention, relevant to any problem behavior or symptom. The earlier one can become aware that the vulnerability to negative emotion or behavior is emerging, the sooner one can practice skillful behaviors which may reduce potential consequences.
- Distress Tolerance - helps to develop the ability to tolerate and accept distress when it cannot be entirely avoided or removed.
- Emotion Regulation - helps patients to regulate their affective levels and to learn how to experience emotions without fear, shame, anxiety or rage.
- Interpersonal effectiveness - helps to increase assertiveness and interpersonal problem-solving.
Telephone Coaching
It is an extra help, available for patients in between sessions, in a moment of crisis. His/her individual therapist would serve as a coach who would help the patient in her attempt to generalize skills learned in group to everyday life and to use those skills in order to avoid self-harming behaviors.
DBT Team
Our team of therapists meets on a weekly basis to provide consultation, education and support to each other. It helps us to provide our patients with comprehensive DBT treatment and to maintain our dialectical perspective.
DBT Associates of Nyack ® 127 South Broadway, South Nyack, NY 10960
