Thursday, July 9, 2015

A Brief Guide To Dialectical Behavior Therapy In NYC

By Olive Pate


Among the many mental health disorders are borderline personality disorder. Patients suffering from the disorder experience suicidal feelings, loneliness, difficulties forming stable relationships, depression and impulsiveness. The gold standard for treating this disorder is dialectical behavior therapy in NYC. Additionally, it is used in the treatment of drug and substance abuse depression and anger issues.

Skills training, individual treatment, phone coaching and consultation team comprise the four components of a dialectical behaviour treatment. In groups, called skills training groups, clients are taught how to improve their behavioural skills. The groups team leader engages the rest of the members in skills training and also gives them homework to practise and hone their skills. Classes are held on a weekly basis and may take up to 6 months to complete.

Individual therapy is focused on a single client and aims at motivating them to use skills learnt to solve specific challenges and events in their lives. This type of therapy takes place once a week and runs concurrently with the other components of the treatment program. The third component, phone coaching focuses on teaching clients skills to cope with situations at the moment through a telephone call.

The last component of the treatment program is the therapist consultation team. These teams are basically for the therapist and not the client although their purpose is to benefit the latter. They help treatment providers to gain competency and focus while treating their patients. They may hold meetings once a week. They comprise of group leaders and individual therapist who share similar responsibility and commitment to their clients.

There are four important skills taught in a DBT treatment program. They include mindfulness, emotion regulation, distress tolerance and interpersonal effectiveness. The skills can be categorized into acceptance oriented and change-oriented skills. Mindfulness and distress tolerance belong to acceptance oriented skills while emotional tolerance and interpersonal effectiveness belong to change-oriented skills. Acceptance oriented skills teach clients what to accept to do to meet their set objectives. The other set of skills teaches clients what to change in order to reach their goals.

Dialectical therapy employs a hierarchy of treatment options to address problems that clients present. Top on the priority list is the need to address life-threatening behaviors. If a client is suicidal or has non-suicidal self-injury, the therapist needs to formulate treatment targets for this behaviour before any other. Also, cases of substance abuse, depression or anger issues have their own treatment options.

The next step is therapy interfering behaviour treatment. A client must be willing to get help before they can be helped. Therefore behaviour that interfere with treatment such as not collaborating or being late should be addressed at this stage. Next is the quality of life behaviours that interrupt the clients quality of life.

Dialectic therapy is effective in relieving symptoms associated with the borderline personality disorder such as non-suicidal self-injury and suicidal behaviour. It is also widely used in patients with cases of anger, depression and substance abuse. It aims to improve social and global functioning as well as cultivating acceptance and change-oriented skills. In the end, after gaining these vital skills, they now are able to live an almost normal life.




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