dialectical behavior therapy

Syllable breakdown

Dictionary meaning

a comprehensive cognitive-behavioural treatment developed by Marsha Linehan in the late 1980s specifically for borderline personality disorder, later adapted for other conditions involving emotional dysregulation, self-harm, and suicidality; DBT is grounded in a dialectical philosophy that holds the central tension between acceptance and change — the therapist validates the client's emotions and behaviour as understandable given their history while simultaneously working toward change; treatment is delivered through individual therapy, skills training groups covering mindfulness, distress tolerance, emotional regulation, and interpersonal effectiveness, phone coaching for crisis generalisation, and therapist consultation teams; DBT has been shown to reduce suicidal behaviour, hospitalisations, and therapy dropout in highly distressed populations