Our DBT treatment targets | Emotion Dysregulation Outcomes

Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) is a comprehensive and evidence-based therapeutic approach that addresses a range of symptoms and challenges faced by individuals. Here are the primary treatment targets for both adults and teens in DBT:

Suicidal Behaviors:

• Goal: Reduce and eliminate self-harming and suicidal behaviors.
• Intervention: Enhance distress tolerance, improve emotion regulation, and build skills to cope with suicidal urges.

Therapy-Interfering Behaviors:

• Goal: Minimize behaviors that interfere with the therapeutic process.
• Intervention: Develop and strengthen commitment to therapy, address barriers to engagement, and enhance motivation.

Quality of Life:

• Goal: Improve overall life satisfaction and functioning.
• Intervention: Work on building a life worth living by enhancing interpersonal effectiveness, distress tolerance, and emotion regulation.

Emotion Dysregulation:

• Goal: Increase emotional awareness and regulate intense emotions effectively.
• Intervention: Teach skills for identifying, understanding, and managing emotions, fostering emotional resilience.

Impulse Control and Substance Use:

• Goal: Improve impulse control, targeting problematic impulsive actions including substance use and alcoholism.
• Intervention: Develop skills to manage impulsivity, identify triggers for substance use, and enhance coping mechanisms for maintaining sobriety.

Emotion Dysregulation:

• Goal: Help teens navigate and manage intense emotions.
• Intervention: Teach emotion regulation skills, mindfulness practices, and distress tolerance to promote healthier emotional responses.

Impulsivity and Substance Use:

• Goal: Reduce impulsive behaviors and address substance use issues.
• Intervention: Equip teens with skills to pause, reflect, and make more deliberate decisions, with a specific focus on substance use prevention and management.

Interpersonal Difficulties:

• Goal: Improve communication and relationship skills.
• Intervention: Enhance interpersonal effectiveness by teaching effective communication, boundary setting, and relationship-building strategies.

Family Conflict:

• Goal: Reduce conflicts within the family unit.
• Intervention: Provide skills for family members to navigate conflicts, improve communication, and create a supportive environment.

Chronic Feelings of Emptiness:

• Goal: Address the underlying causes of emptiness.
• Intervention: Explore and work on factors contributing to a sense of emptiness, promoting a more fulfilling life.

Difficulty Trusting Others:

• Goal: Develop trust and improve relationships.
• Intervention: Enhance interpersonal effectiveness skills and provide a safe space for exploring and building trust.

Difficulty Identifying and Pursuing Life Goals:

• Goal: Clarify and work towards meaningful life goals.
• Intervention: Support individuals in identifying their values and goals, providing guidance on effective goal-setting and achievement.

Intense and Unstable Relationships:

• Goal: Foster stable and healthy relationships.
• Intervention: Teach skills for effective communication, emotion regulation, and boundary-setting to enhance relationship dynamics.
• 
  

By targeting these specific areas, DBT aims to provide individuals, both adults and teens, with the skills and tools needed to navigate life's challenges, improve emotional well-being, and build a life worth living, including addressing issues related to impulse control and substance use in teens.

Ready to start your DBT journey? Request an intake below.