Our therapists offer DBT / dialectical behavior therapy in Midlothian, VA

Lisette: My go-to approach for helping people using dialectical behavior therapy is to follow the four main tenets of DBT (mindfulness, emotion regulation, interpersonal effectiveness, and distress tolerance). What I love about this type of therapy is that it brings two seemingly opposing thoughts or ideas together and allows them to exist in the same space. For example, a client can bring the emotional and rational sides of their mind together and have them work together in harmony, which we call “Wise Mind.” This allows a client to find a lot more inner harmony and reduce that feeling of internal discord. It also teaches clients a lot of tangible skills, which they can practice and master through this type of therapy.

Jasmine: I prefer to utilize a DBT approach for individuals struggling with emotional regulation. When using this approach, we focus on practicing self-awareness and validating one's own emotions, learning distress tolerance techniques, and developing skills to manage those emotions in various situations.

Lisette: The main tenets of DBT are emotion regulation, mindfulness, interpersonal effectiveness, and distress tolerance. I start with teaching clients mindfulness, and then we move on to other topics that would be most helpful based on their needs. Examples of specific skills are calming skills, self-advocacy, crisis survival skills, and de-escalation. DBT offers a lot of strategies and skills that a client will develop and master during their work in counseling.

Jasmine: When using a DBT approach, I teach my clients a whole lot of mindfulness and grounding techniques, such as body scans to raise awareness of both mental and physical symptoms in response to stressors, utilizing all 5 senses for grounding, using the feelings wheel to explore and name various emotions, and developing an imaginary “toolbox” to store all healthy coping skills for self-soothing.

Lisette: I know a client is making meaningful progress in dialectical behavior therapy when they feel more in control of their emotions and are able to use their Wise Mind (bringing together rational and emotional minds). They will feel better able to handle distressing situations and will put the skills they learned into practice. They will also be more mindful and present with themselves.

Jasmine: One of the ways that I see progress in treatment with DBT is when my clients start to develop a wide vocabulary for their emotions and take effective and necessary steps to manage those emotions.

Lisette: Clients can supplement their time in dialectical behavior therapy with take-home exercises which can help them put these skills into practice in their lives. One of the best parts of this type of therapy is that there is a lot of real-world application of these skills and the therapist can send the client home with tasks and skills to practice on their own.

Jasmine: When using a DBT approach in treatment, I encourage my clients to practice mindfulness techniques and self-care on their own time.

Lisette: To prepare for their first dialectical behavior therapy session, an individual can reflect on patterns in their lives and identify ways in which they have not been mindful of their lives or how their emotions have controlled their lives. The most effective way for this therapy to work is for the client to practice the skills outside of the session.

Jasmine: For someone interested in DBT, I encourage them to come to the session with openness and a good amount of motivation for personal growth.