What Makes DBT Different Than Other Therapies?

Kat Schultz
1 hour ago
2 min read

people sit around a table with notebooks

First, what even is DBT? Well, Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) is a synthesis of Cognitive Behavior Therapy and Zen Buddhism. It incorporates the foundation of CBT with mindfulness skills. It's used to treat emotion dysregulation and self-destructive behaviors, among other mental health struggles.

DBT was initially created by Dr. Marsha Linehan to treat suicidal young women. It has since been expanded to all to treat a wide variety of mental health conditions. There are so many different therapy modalities out there to choose from and to find your best fit with. What makes DBT different than the rest?

Tangible Coping Skills

DBT teaches a whole set of tangible coping skills meant to be used in times of distress. When we're in crisis, we often result to 'ineffective' and potentially destructive coping mechanisms. DBT offers alternative practices that you can use instead. From the distraction skill (ACCEPTS), to self-soothe, to TIPP, there are many different ways to engage with your body and environment instead of self-destructing in crisis.

Mindfulness Component

One of the four modules of skills in DBT focuses entirely on Mindfulness. This is the component drawn from Zen Buddhism, but it is not explicitly spiritual. DBT Mindfulness offers both a way of thinking about and existing in the world meant to connect and regulate (such as Wise Mind), and instructions on how to get there with skills such as the What and How skills. These skills are a little less tangible than the distress tolerance skills, but still very practical.

Dialectical Perspective

The D in DBT stands for Dialectical, which is the idea that two seemingly opposite things can be true at the same time. This is often a really difficult concept for those of us who struggle with black-and-white thinking, where opposites are absolute. Dialectics seeks to find the middle path, the shades of gray. It's 'this AND that' rather than 'this BUT that.' Think of dialectical statements such as "I love my parents and they frustrate me" or "I am doing the best I can and I can do better."

Life Worth Living

Since DBT was originated to treat suicidality, there's an emphasis on building your Life Worth Living, a life you actually want to live and be present in. DBT utilizes skills that focus on values and acceptance to find a balance between accepting reality as it is and working to change your life (another dialectical statement!). Skills such as Radical Acceptance, Willingness, and Accumulating Positives focus on this.

There are more than just these four reasons why DBT is unique, but these truly stand out. It's a great fit for some folks, while other therapies may be a great fit for others. Give it a try and find out!

We teach DBT skills as part of our DBT trainings for mental health providers and you can learn them for yourself in our self-paced DBT skills course.