What can I expect?
DBT® is a structured therapy which requires a serious commitment from both the client and the therapist. Your therapist will help you clarify your goals and will ask for specific commitments from you, which will help you reach your goals. You and your therapist will develop a collaborative relationship which will seek to reduce any problems that get in the way of your therapy and will also identify behaviors that you most need to change in order to achieve your goals. Individual therapy and skills training will be weekly and you will have homework for each. You will also have access to between-session coaching contact. DBT® is a very active and directed process, where you and your therapist delineate a clear path toward your goals and focus on the steps needed to reach them. Your effort will be a huge factor in your progress.
The first sessions of DBT® will focus on orientation, assessment and commitment. There are formal and informal assessment procedures. During the early sessions you and your therapist will establish your relationship and treatment plan, including making a diary card. Attendance at skills class usually begins within four to six weeks after entering therapy.
The first sessions of DBT® will focus on orientation, assessment and commitment. There are formal and informal assessment procedures. During the early sessions you and your therapist will establish your relationship and treatment plan, including making a diary card. Attendance at skills class usually begins within four to six weeks after entering therapy.
Is DBT® right for me?
This question is best answered in an interview with an intensively trained DBT® therapist. However, to get a general idea of the kinds of problems DBT® treats you can read through the nine questions below. Consider each question carefully and decide if it is 1) mostly true or 2) mostly not true about you. If you find that you answer “mostly true” to several of these items, then DBT® may be right for you.
- Do you have mood swings and rapidly changing emotions? Do you find that little things tend to cause emotions to flare and that the emotions are extreme and sometimes long-lasting?
- Do you either over-express or under-express anger? Does anger cause a lot of problems in your life?
- Are you somewhat impulsive? Do you have a tendency to do things under the influence of emotion that you later regret, such as drink too much, spend too much money, eat to excess or engage in inappropriate sex?
- Are you confused about who you really are? Do you wonder, for example, whether you really like yourself at all, what your values are, or whether or not you are a “worthy” person?
- Are your relationships often filled with conflict, or do you have few or no lasting relationships?
- Do you find that when an important person in your life is upset with you or wants to leave a relationship that you feel overwhelmed with fear of abandonment as if you cannot survive without that person? Does this feeling really frighten you?
- Do you find that sometimes, when you are really upset, that you want to hurt yourself, or think you would like to be dead? Do you ever harm yourself intentionally or consider killing yourself?
- Do you ever feel empty or numb for long periods of time?
- When you are really, really upset, do you sometimes have thoughts that people really want to harm you or are hurting you on purpose even though later you might realize this isn’t true? Do you ever lose track of where you are, or of time, or feel paralyzed when you are very emotional?