What Is DBT?

Dialectical behavior therapy (DBT) was developed in the 1970s by an American psychologist named Marsha Linehan. DBT was originally used as a therapy to treat borderline personality disorder, especially in individuals who were having thoughts of self-harm. Over the next several decades, the value of DBT for the treatment of other mental health disorders started to become more recognized. 

DBT therapy is a treatment based on cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT). However, it’s an adapted approach for individuals who are more prone to experiencing intense feelings associated with their mental health. For example, the intense feelings associated with borderline personality disorder and thoughts of self-harm. During these episodes of intense emotions, a strictly logical approach might not be effective. 

The contrasts between CBT and DBT are subtle but illustrate the effectiveness of DBT in anxiety management. Both are forms of talk therapy, with CBT helping the person identify cause-and-effect relationships between their thoughts, feelings, and behaviors. 

For example, a person has anxious thoughts about going into crowded spaces, so their behavior is to avoid events with many people. As a result, they feel their social life has suffered. The focus of CBT is to help the individual see how making one positive change in the thought-feeling-behavior pattern can influence the entire chain. 

DBT is slightly different because it doesn’t necessarily focus on immediately changing a thought or behavior. Instead, this form of therapy seeks to help the individual accept and acknowledge what they are feeling as part of who they are. The next step is to develop effective strategies for managing and coping with challenging thoughts, behaviors, and feelings—such as those that are common with anxiety. 

How DBT Helps with Anxiety

DBT for anxiety is an evidence-based, therapeutic approach that has gained more attention in recent years. DBT isn’t often the first approach in anxiety treatment but rather used when other therapies, including CBT, have been ineffective. 

However, for some people with anxiety, DBT may be considered as a first line of therapy, especially for those whose anxiety is partnered with emotional dysregulation. 

The advantages of DBT for anxiety are found in its four main components. These include working on distress tolerance, emotional regulation, interpersonal effectiveness, and mindfulness. Let’s take a closer look at how each area can help with anxiety treatment. 

Distress Tolerance Skills

Stress and uncertainty are triggers for many individuals who struggle with anxiety. Distress tolerance skills help the individual identify when they are in or approaching an anxiety crisis. This might manifest as an anxiety attack or the feeling that anxiety is beginning to spiral out of control. 

With distress tolerance, the goal isn’t to remove the triggering situation, but instead to be able to manage or tolerate the distress in a less harmful, healthier way. This approach is especially helpful when a stressful anxiety trigger can not be solved or removed. 

Distress tolerance skills for anxiety can include distraction, sensory tactics, like temperature changes, breathing exercises, tasting something sour or sweet, touching something that is soothing, etc. Tolerance skills may also include learning how to accept the situation and one’s feelings about it, without feeling negatively about oneself. 

Emotional Regulation in DBT

Emotional dysregulation is listed as a symptom of several mental health conditions, including anxiety disorder. Emotional dysregulation makes it difficult to control one’s emotional response to certain stimuli. Emotional dysregulation can make it difficult to focus, guide one’s thoughts, and control one’s actions. 

Emotional regulation in DBT aims to help the individual identify and cope with the intense emotions associated with anxiety. During DBT therapy, an individual may learn strategies described by the acronym ABC PLEASE, among others. 

ABC PLEASE stands for Accumulate positives, Build mastery, Cope ahead, treat PhysicaL illness, balanced Eating, Avoid mood-altering substances, balance Sleep, balanced Exercise. 

Interpersonal Effectiveness

Anxiety can interfere with the ability to make friends and maintain personal relationships. For those with anxiety, setting boundaries may be difficult, and there may be anxiety associated with asserting one’s needs and wants within a relationship. This can make it difficult for those with anxiety to form close relationships, connect with others in a mutually supportive relationship, and genuinely enjoy the company of others. 

Interpersonal effectiveness skills help to change this by helping the individual better express their feelings, assert what they want, learn how to reinforce positive behaviors in their relationships, and stay mindful while being open to compromise. 

Mindfulness 

Mindfulness practice is one of the most important components of DBT for anxiety. When a person is suffering from anxiety, there’s often a fear about potential actions and events in the future or anxiety over things that have happened in the past. 

Mindfulness helps individuals discover how to focus on themselves in the present and become more calm in the moment. 

Benefits of DBT for Anxiety 

Anxiety reduction strategies, like those focused on DBT, can help improve a person’s quality of life by weakening the grip that anxiety has on them. Compared to other therapies and anxiety treatments, DBT is a unique approach that doesn’t try to cover up or negate an individual’s feelings but instead helps them accept their feelings in the present, manage what they can, and let go of what they cannot control. 

If you’re struggling with anxiety and have found that emotional dysregulation, constant worry over the future, and difficulty with relationships have a continual presence in your life, DBT for anxiety is an approach to treatment that can help you work through your anxiety and become stronger than it. 

Finding DBT Treatment for Anxiety in Massachusetts 

Those suffering from anxiety need to know that it doesn’t have to control their lives. At Rockland Recovery, we offer evidence-based treatment options for anxiety and other mental health conditions. 

Our dialectical behavior therapy sessions are individualized, compassionate, professional, and effective. We encourage you to reach out to Rockland Recovery at 888-299-4833 to learn more about our mental health services and begin freeing yourself from the grips of anxiety.