Our therapists offer DBT / dialectical behavior therapy in Orlando, FL

Dialectical behavior therapy, or DBT, is one of my go-to approaches because it helps individuals identify emotions, regulate these emotions, and develop helpful coping skills. I find great benefits in DBT because it helps individuals understand themselves, their feelings, and ways to regulate their feelings, and also helps folks learn how to navigate interpersonal conflicts.

I teach the following tools in dialectical behavior therapy or DBT: emotional identification and regulation (knowing what we are feeling and what to do when we feel that way), distress tolerance (responding to a stressful experience with healthy coping behaviors), healthy coping skills (working on fostering the strengths you have and developing other healthy activities that make you feel calm and clear), mindfulness (breathing exercises, body scans, or just learning to tune into your senses), healthy boundary setting and communication skills (using “I” statements, de-escalation techniques, healthy assertiveness, and more).

I know a client is making meaningful progress in dialectical behavior therapy when they are utilizing the skills we learn or review in therapy at home and express that they helped decrease feelings of distress.

Clients can supplement their time in dialectical behavior therapy with healthy coping skills (the healthy activities that make you calm, clear, and regulated).

To prepare for their first DBT session, an individual can write down one or even some goals that they would like to work on. If they can not think of a goal, maybe try writing a list of areas or reasons that they feel are bringing them to therapy.