Dialectical Behavioural Therapy Edmonton
Dialectical behaviour therapy or DBT is a form of counseling for individuals affected by mental health disorders that impair the ability to regulate emotions (eg. borderline personality disorder).
What is dialectical behavioural therapy?
DBT focuses on reducing destructive behaviour by developing healthy ways to adapt and cope with challenges and feelings of frustration. It focuses on building four primary behavioural skills:
- Mindfulness: being fully aware and present in the moment
- Distress tolerance: tolerating pain in difficult situations rather than changing it
- Interpersonal effectiveness: maintaining self-respect and healthy relationships with others
- Emotion regulation: the practice of reducing vulnerability to painful emotions
The four skills combine to aid in the prevention of suicide and self-harm.
What does dialectical behavioural therapy include?
Dialectical behaviour therapy is conducted over three primary treatment delivery methods:
- One-on-one therapy sessions where individuals meet with a counselor for one 60-minute session on a weekly basis
- Group sessions where individuals are encouraged to work on their behavioural skills in a group setting
- Phone sessions where individuals are able to call their therapists for support when dealing with difficult real life situations
The combination of delivery methods allows individuals to not only get the personalized and long term help they need, but it recognizes the importance of access. By offering more immediate phone sessions, therapists can work directly with clients to mitigate immediate risk of suicide and self-harm until the participant can attend one of the pre-scheduled sessions.
Who is best-suited for dialectical behavioural therapy?
Although DBT was originally developed for individuals with suicidal behaviour, it can be adapted for the treatment of other disorders and behaviours, such as:
DBT has been proven highly effective in the prevention of suicide and self-harm when compared to other modalities but it’s important to remember that if you or a loved one is at urgent risk you should seek immediate professional and medical attention. You can find out more about The Canada Suicide Prevention Service here.
If you are interested in exploring more about DBT and would like to start on the path to healing we encourage you to reach out. To set up a consultation, visit our contact page.
Empower yourself!
Find out more information about our services.
To figure out if therapy is right for you, talk to one of our registered psychologists or counsellors.