HOW DOES DBT WORK?
The Core Functions of DBT:
The principles of Dialectical Behavior Therapy
DBT - Balancing Acceptance and Change
Dialectical Behavior Therapy is an evidence-based treatment that works to balance the tension between acceptance and change, two seemingly incompatible tendencies.
DBT is informed by the philosophical concept of “dialectics,” the integration of opposites or, as some philosophers have described it, the “union of opposites.” In the context of psychotherapy, DBT helps clients simultaneously accept their situation while working tochange it by moving past rigid patterns of thinking.
The Origin Of DBT Therapy
Marsha M. Linehan PhD, a world renowned psychologist and author, developed DBT
starting in the late 1970s, when she was treating chronically suicidal individuals.
Back then, Linehan realized that the traditional cognitive-behavioral interventions aimed
at helping these patients were too focused on changing emotions and behaviors.
Consequently, patients often shut down emotionally, abandoned treatment, or became
angry with their therapists because they felt invalidated. However, interventions that
focused solely on validation or self-acceptance also fell short, undermining the pressing
need for patients to change their behavior, and therefore their life experience. In
response, Linehan created the treatment plan now known as DBT, which emphasizes
finding the proper balance between change and validation in working with clients.
DBT's Dialectical Point of View
“The spirit of a dialectical point of view is never to accept a proposition as a final truth or indisputable fact,” according to a 2008 study co-authored by Linehan. “In the search for the validity or truth contained within each contradictory position, new meanings emerge.… The patient and therapist regularly ask, ‘What haven’t we considered?’ or ‘What is the synthesis between these two positions.’” Linehan writes that DBT treats the whole patient, not a discreet disease or disorder. The interrelated elements that make up that whole are constantly in flux.
Linehan’s pioneering work was based on her professional clinical experience, a deep
dive into scientific research, and her own mental health struggles as chronicled in her memoir, “Building a Life Worth Living.” Providing clients with the skills they need to experience what they perceive as a “life worth living” is a mantra of the DBT
community.
Who Benefits From DBT?
- Loneliness
- Emptiness, feeling out of touch with self and others
- Anxiety
- Destructive impulses
- Depression
- Conflict in relationships, navigation relationships
- Tolerating stress
- Absence of flexibility, difficulty with change
- Extreme emotional swings
- Anger
- Chronic Sadness
- Intense shame or guilt
Some of the more complex health issues that DBT is designed to address include
borderline personality disorder, self-harming behavior, major depression, substance
abuse, and eating disorders.
DBT focuses on recognizing unhealthy patterns of behavior and making meaningful changes to achieve goals and live a better life.
2025 DBT Therapy Group
