Dialectical behavior therapy (DBT) is a type of cognitive-behavioral therapy that is designed to instill in patients the ability to live in the present and enjoy the moment. A dialectical behavior therapy program will also aim to help you develop healthy ways to manage and cope with stressful situations, find balance within your emotions, and ultimately improve the relationships you have with family, friends, and co-workers. If you are suffering from depression or addiction, contact us online or call 833.514.0579 today to discuss how our Los Angeles outpatient rehab center may be able to help.
Who Can a Dialectical Behavior Therapy Program Help?
DBT was pioneered in the 1980s by Dr. Marsha Linehan as a way of treating borderline personality disorder, and has since been accepted for use in treating substance abuse and mental health disorders. At Avedis Recovery, we provide dialectical behavior therapy in our Los Angeles treatment center as a way to assist a variety of patients to overcome any number of issues, including:
- Addiction
- Eating disorders
- Substance use disorders
- PTSD
- Depression
What Does Dialectical Behavior Therapy Look Like?
A dialectical behavior therapy program will typically involve a mix of therapies and skill-building sessions. There is individual, one-on-one therapy with a trained medical professional therapist that will work to ensure all of your needs are met. Additionally, you can expect to receive DBT skill building in a group therapy environment that promotes learning and sharing among others walking a similar path. Being in a group with others will keep you motivated. You will also learn how to utilize dialectical behavior therapy skills going forward into your daily life. This will help you avoid obstacles you may encounter both in treatment and outside of the therapy sessions.
The dialectical behavior therapy at our Avedis Recovery focuses on providing patients with critical skills in four important areas:
Mindfulness
Mindfulness is a state of active, open attention to being in the present. In becoming mindful, you will observe thoughts and feelings without judgment and learn to be active and present. This is accomplished, in part, with exercises based on practicing mindfulness.
Distress Tolerance
Instead of escaping negative emotions through drugs, alcohol, or other means, distress tolerance in a dialectical behavior therapy program will help to increase your tolerance of negative thoughts and feelings.
Emotion Regulation
Intense emotions may be causing the problems that are being masked with substance use disorder. During DBT sessions, you will learn strategies to manage and change those emotions to live a healthier and happier life.
Interpersonal Effectiveness
Many patients in our DBT programs struggle with conflict in their relationships. This is where interpersonal effectiveness comes in. A dialectical behavior therapy program will present you with techniques that allow you to communicate with others in a way that maintains your self-respect, is assertive, and will actually strengthen your most important relationships.
DBT in Outpatient Rehab
Dialectical behavior therapy programs help those with substance use disorders learn the skills that will encourage and arm them with life-saving strategies to stop using drugs and alcohol. We also offer the following programs:
- Cognitive-behavioral therapy
- Alcoholics Anonymous
- Narcotics Anonymous
Additionally, DBT focuses on changing your behavior, environment, and peer group to make staying clean and sober easier and making a lifelong recovery more possible.
Some of these DBT strategies may include:
- Encourage you to find new, safer environments to inhabit in your daily life
- Teach you the importance of surrounding yourself with supportive friends and family
- Help to remove dangerous triggers from your home and day to day life
- Boost your self-esteem and self-confidence
- Instill coping mechanisms to manage stressful situations
Learn More at Our LA Outpatient Addiction Treatment Center
If mental health and/or a substance use disorder have strained your relationships and distributed your life, find out how a dialectical behavior therapy program at Avedis Recovery can help you to start rebuilding your life. Contact us using our secure online form or call us confidentially at 833.514.0579 today.