Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) is an evidence-based treatment designed to help people who experience intense emotions, impulsive behaviors, and ongoing relational difficulties. At Integrative Path Therapy, I provide comprehensive, structured DBT for adults in a supportive and collaborative setting — helping you build skills, reduce suffering, and move toward a life that feels more stable and meaningful.
What Is DBT?
Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) was originally developed to support people experiencing chronic emotional distress, self-harm, and suicidal thoughts. Over time, it has become one of the most effective treatments for emotion dysregulation, Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD), trauma-related symptoms, and ongoing relationship difficulties.
DBT is especially helpful when emotions feel overwhelming, reactions happen quickly, and the same painful patterns keep repeating despite insight or effort.
DBT balances two core ideas:
- Acceptance — learning to understand yourself and your experiences without judgment
- Change — building skills to respond differently when emotions feel overwhelming
This balance helps reduce emotional suffering while increasing effectiveness in daily life – especially in moments that used to feel unmanageable.
Why Is It Called Dialectical Behavior Therapy?
People often ask what “DBT” stands for and what the name actually means. The explanation is built into the three parts of the name itself — and understanding it can make the therapy feel much less intimidating.
Dialectical refers to the idea that two seemingly opposite things can both be true at the same time. In DBT, this shows up most clearly in the balance between acceptance and change. For example: “I’m doing the best I can” and “I still need to learn new ways to cope.” These ideas may sound contradictory, but both can be true. Learning to hold multiple truths helps reduce all-or-nothing thinking and creates space for meaningful change.
Behavior reflects DBT’s focus on identifying specific patterns — especially behaviors that increase suffering or interfere with your goals — and learning more effective responses. Rather than focusing only on insight, DBT helps you understand what leads up to behaviors, what keeps them going, and how to respond differently when it matters most.
Therapy means DBT is more than a set of skills or a self-help approach. It’s a structured, supportive treatment that includes individual therapy, skills training, and real-time support. DBT combines compassion with accountability, helping you build a life that feels more stable, connected, and worth living.
Together, these elements reflect DBT’s integrated approach — structured, practical, and deeply respectful of your lived experience.
What is DBT Designed For?
DBT is designed for people who feel overwhelmed by intense emotions, find themselves reacting in ways they later regret, or notice the same painful patterns repeating in their lives and relationships. It’s often recommended when insight alone hasn’t been enough and when more structure, skill-building, and support are needed to create meaningful change.
While DBT is well known for treating Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD), it is also effective for trauma-related symptoms, chronic depression, anxiety, and other difficulties involving emotion and behavior regulation.
What Does Comprehensive DBT Therapy Include?
Comprehensive DBT is the full, evidence-based model of Dialectical Behavior Therapy. It provides the structure, consistency, and support many people need when emotions feel unmanageable, behaviors feel risky, or patterns have been difficult to change through traditional therapy alone.
At Integrative Path Therapy, I provide full Comprehensive DBT when the level of structure and support is essential for safety, stabilization, and meaningful change. In other situations, DBT may be thoughtfully integrated with additional evidence-based approaches. The treatment approach is determined collaboratively during the initial consultation and is guided by clinical need, safety, and your goals — rather than preference alone.
Individual DBT Therapy
Individual sessions offer a steady, supportive space to slow things down and focus on what’s happening in your life right now. Together, we look at patterns that may be keeping you stuck, moments when emotions or reactions feel overwhelming, and situations where you wish things had gone differently. The work is collaborative and practical, with an emphasis on understanding why certain patterns developed and how to respond in ways that feel more effective and aligned with your values.
DBT Skills Training
Skills training focuses on learning and practicing tools across four core areas: mindfulness, emotion regulation, distress tolerance, and interpersonal effectiveness. Skills may be learned through DBT Skills Group or individual skills sessions, depending on your treatment plan and level of care.
Between-Session Support (Phone Coaching)
When part of treatment, between-session coaching provides brief, in-the-moment support to help you apply DBT skills during periods of high distress. This support reinforces skill use and helps bridge the gap between sessions.
Whether treatment involves full Comprehensive DBT or a DBT-informed approach, the focus remains the same: safety, effectiveness, and helping you build a life that feels more stable, intentional, and worth living.
Ready to Take the Next Step?
Dialectical Behavior Therapy can be a powerful path toward greater emotional stability, stronger relationships, and a life that feels more manageable and meaningful. If you’re wondering whether DBT is the right fit for you, the first step is a conversation.
I offer DBT therapy for adults in Las Vegas, Nevada and Torrance, California, with online sessions available across California, Nevada, and Oregon. During a free telephone consultation, we’ll talk through what you’re experiencing and determine whether DBT — or another approach — makes sense for your needs.
If you’d like to learn more or schedule a consultation, you’re welcome to reach out through the contact form on this website.
FAQ’s Related to DBT Therapy
Why Do Therapists Recommend DBT?
Therapists recommend Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) because it offers practical, research-backed tools for managing intense emotions, navigating relationships, and building a life worth living. DBT is especially helpful for people who feel like their emotions take over, who struggle with black-and-white thinking, or who find themselves stuck in painful patterns, despite their best efforts to change.
Originally developed by Dr. Marsha Linehan to treat borderline personality disorder (BPD), DBT has since been adapted for a wide range of concerns, including depression, anxiety, trauma, suicidal thoughts, self-harm, eating disorders, and substance use. Therapists often recommend DBT when someone needs more than just insight—they need concrete skills to get through the day, improve their relationships, and reduce suffering.
What makes DBT unique is its balance between acceptance and change. Therapists using DBT aren’t just helping clients understand their problems—they’re helping them learn how to manage them. Whether it’s learning to regulate emotions, communicate more effectively, or tolerate distress without making things worse, DBT gives clients the skills to handle life in a new way.
In short, therapists recommend DBT because it works—and because it gives people hope. Many clients who have tried other therapies without much success find that DBT offers a more structured, supportive, and empowering approach.
Who Benefits Most from DBT?
DBT was originally created to support people who feel emotions more intensely than others and struggle to manage those emotions in ways that feel effective. It was developed by Dr. Marsha Linehan to help people who were emotionally dysregulated and chronically suicidal—individuals who often hadn’t found relief in other forms of therapy. Over time, research revealed that many of these individuals also met criteria for borderline personality disorder (BPD), which is why DBT has become known as a leading treatment for BPD.
Still, DBT helps far more people than one diagnosis.
You may benefit from DBT if you:
- Experience intense mood swings or emotional reactions that feel hard to control
- Often feel overwhelmed by your emotions and don’t know what to do with them
- Find yourself acting impulsively or doing things that cause harm (like self-harm, substance use, binge eating, or lashing out)
- Struggle in your relationships—feeling misunderstood, afraid of abandonment, or stuck in painful cycles with others
- Have tried other types of therapy but still feel stuck, like insight alone hasn’t been enough to create change
- Feel hopeless, chronically empty, or unsure of who you are
- Have experienced trauma and have difficulty regulating emotions or feeling safe in the world
DBT is also highly effective for people living with chronic suicidality, self-harming behaviors, emotion dysregulation, depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress, eating disorders, and substance use.
One of the strengths of DBT is that it doesn’t assume you’re broken—it assumes you’ve been doing the best you can with the tools you’ve had. If you’re ready to learn new tools that actually work in real life—especially when things feel overwhelming—DBT can help you build a more stable, connected, and intentional life.
What Disorders Can Be Treated with DBT?
Although DBT was first developed to treat individuals who were chronically suicidal and emotionally dysregulated, research has since shown its effectiveness across a wide range of mental health concerns. DBT is now considered an evidence-based treatment for several clinical disorders and is used widely for both individual and group therapy.
DBT can be an effective treatment for:
- Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) – DBT remains the gold standard treatment for BPD, helping reduce suicidal thoughts, self-harm, and unstable relationships.
- Depression – Particularly when accompanied by emotion dysregulation, hopelessness, or interpersonal difficulties.
- Anxiety Disorders – Including generalized anxiety, social anxiety, and panic disorder, especially when intense emotional responses interfere with daily life.
- Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) – DBT can help trauma survivors regain emotional stability and manage intense reactions, often in combination with trauma-focused treatments.
- Substance Use Disorders – DBT has been adapted to help individuals reduce substance use while increasing emotional and behavioral regulation.
- Eating Disorders – Particularly binge eating and bulimia, where impulsivity and emotion-driven behavior play a key role.
- Self-Harming Behaviors – DBT helps reduce urges and increase alternative coping skills.
- Bipolar Disorder – DBT skills can support mood stabilization, impulse control, and improved relationships.
- Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) – DBT helps with emotional sensitivity, impulsivity, and difficulty staying focused or organized. Many adults with ADHD benefit from DBT’s structured approach to mindfulness, emotion regulation, and behavior change.
Even when a person doesn’t meet criteria for a specific diagnosis, DBT may still be the right approach, especially if they struggle with intense emotions, chaotic relationships, impulsive behaviors, or feelings of emptiness. At its core, DBT is about learning how to navigate life with more balance, stability, and skill.
How Long Does DBT Typically Last?
DBT is designed as a comprehensive treatment, not a quick fix. On average, Dialectical Behavior Therapy lasts about one year, depending on your needs and goals. Full DBT includes weekly individual therapy, weekly skills group, phone coaching as needed, and a therapist consultation team to support fidelity to the model.
Clients are encouraged to complete all four DBT skills modules at least once:
- Mindfulness
- Emotion Regulation
- Interpersonal Effectiveness
- Distress Tolerance
Each round of modules takes approximately six months, and many clients benefit from repeating the skills a second time as they begin to apply them more effectively in daily life. For clients working on high-risk behaviors like chronic suicidality or self-harm, treatment often continues for a full year or more to support long-term change and stability.
That said, how long DBT lasts depends on you. Some people complete the program in about a year, while others stay longer to strengthen their skills and work toward deeper goals. Your therapist will work with you to assess progress, revisit goals, and make sure the structure of DBT continues to support your needs.
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