What We Treat At The DBT Center

All of our clients have difficulties with intense emotions. Some feel their emotions are out of control and lead to impulsive behaviors. Others may feel numb, or that their emotions are "locked down" or suppressed. The primary goal of DBT is to teach individuals how to experience emotions in a healthy, effective way that feels productive and manageable, both through the use of specific skills, as well as other aspects of DBT treatment.

What We Treat

DBT is effective for individuals who have difficulty regulating their emotions. Problems with emotion regulation might take a variety of forms, such as:

Painful, strong emotions, that feel overwhelming or like there is no escape
Your emotions feel like they come out of the blue, and/or shift quickly from one to the next
It feels like your emotions control your life and your decisions
Presence of suicidal ideation and/or self-harm behaviors
Other impulsivity related to emotions
Problems with anger, shame, or low mood
Problems feeling numb or detached from your emotions

Many of our clients have current or previous suicide ideation, suicide attempts, and/or intentional self-injury that is not suicidal. DBT was designed to treat suicide and intentional self-injury, among other problems. It has a great deal of research supporting its usefulness for these problems. That being said, there is no proven way to predict or prevent suicide. We are very skilled at helping clients build a life where they no longer want to die, but we cannot guarantee that we can predict or prevent suicide.

First and foremost in DBT, we work on life-threatening behaviors, and any situations or habits that lead to these behaviors. This will remain the primary focus until the risk of self-harm or suicide is significantly reduced.

Eating disorders often co-occur with emotion dysregulation, trauma, self-harm, anxiety, suicidality, or other complex difficulties. Evidence-based eating disorder interventions can be incorporated within the DBT structure.

DBT helps clients:

Reduce eating-disordered behaviors through behavioral analysis and contingency strategies
Increase emotion regulation to reduce reliance on restriction, bingeing, purging, or overexercise as coping strategies
Build distress tolerance skills for moments of high food-related anxiety or shame
Improve body image and self-worth using cognitive modification techniques
Strengthen values-based living and build a life worth staying in recovery for

Our clients typically struggle with multiple chronic problems. We focus on solving the problems that make building a life difficult. This could include suicide or self-harm behaviors, impulsivity, any DSM-5 diagnosis (e.g., PTSD/trauma, eating disorder, substance use, depression, anxiety, and so on), and/or serious problems in living, such as a housing situation, conflict in relationships, employment difficulties, and many others.

For each of these problems, we will use DBT strategies (skills, exposure, cognitive modification, and contingency management). If there is an evidence-based treatment for the problem, we will also use that treatment within the structure of DBT. These might include:

CBT or Family-Based Treatment for eating disorders
Prolonged Exposure for PTSD trauma
Behavioral Activation for depression
CBT or Acceptance Based Behavior Therapy for generalized anxiety disorder
CBT for other anxiety disorders
Exposure and Response Prevention for OCD

Not all clients will present with all of these difficulties. DBT is a highly tailored treatment and we will only focus on the targets that are relevant to you.