About Dialectical Behavior Therapy

The mindfulness skills are at the core of DBT,  and are the foundation of all other skills. These skills derive from the meditation practices of Eastern spiritual training. They were obtained by the Buddhist practice of Ānāpānasati. Ānāpānasati is defined as “the mindfulness of one’s breaths throughout the body.”  

Throughout DBT, references to the core mindfulness skills are made often.  In a typical DBT setting, the mindfulness skills are reviewed time and time again before learning a new set of skills. This stresses the severity of importance these skills carry in recovery.

Distress Tolerance skills are used to make the toleration of painful emotions more bearable. Rather than teaching you to change or avoid your painful emotions, distress tolerance skills encourage you to experience these emotions safely. Doing so is essential for personal growth and to avoid being emotionally “stuck.” Painful emotions are sometimes unavoidable, and there will be times when changing your emotions is ineffective and/or impossible. Without skillfully handling distressing situations, many people resort to harmful coping methods. Though these methods may relieve emotional pain in the short term, they lead to even more distress and suffering long term. 

Proper, patient, and repetitive use of these skills will keep you from experiencing emotional pain longer than necessary.

Emotion Regulation skills teach you how to control your emotions. They also help one effectively express their emotions and alter their emotional experience when desired and/or necessary. Harmful behavior patterns (suicidal acts, eating disorders, substance abuse issues, unhealthy relationships, etc.) are all the result of faulty attempts to handle painful emotions.

Interpersonal Effectiveness skills exist to help in interpersonal relationships. They teach you how to develop and maintain relationships healthily. They will also teach you how to accept change within your relationships and how to put an end to unhealthy relationships. Many people with BPD struggle with unstable and intense relationships. With proper use of interpersonal effectiveness skills, however, this pattern can be put to a stop. It is important to remember, however, that regardless of how skillful one may be in their approach to relationships, the other person involved may not be skillful. In these cases, it is important to focus on your skills and to practice self-validation.