If you’re not a mental health professional, you may have never heard of dialectical behavior therapy. If you know about it, though, you may have strong opinions about its efficacy. Some mental health professionals feel that it works well, while some think other methods are preferable.
Outpatient rehab for addiction is available for those battling drug or alcohol issues. However, you might also sign up for dialectical behavior therapy if you decide an inpatient program makes more sense for you. We’ll discuss what this term means in detail in the following article.
What is Dialectical Behavior Therapy All About?
There are many kinds of so-called talk therapy, and dialectical behavior therapy is one of them. It is directly related to CBT, or cognitive behavioral therapy. If you feel emotions very strongly or intensely, a doctor might steer you in the direction of dialectical behavior therapy.
If you undertake this therapy, the goal is to allow you to thoroughly understand troubling or difficult feelings. Then, you can learn skills to control these feelings. The final phase is making positive changes in your life through what you’ve learned.
Who Can Benefit the Most From It?
The term “dialectical” refers to coming to an understanding of two things that seem contradictory but are both still true. The classic example that most doctors will give you is that you must accept yourself, warts and all, but you can also change your behavior.
It follows that those who might benefit the most from dialectical behavior therapy are individuals who feel intensely that something is wrong with them that they would like to change. Some of those who undertake this form of talk therapy have come from difficult childhoods or backgrounds. Having abusive parents who instilled feelings of self-doubt in the subject might be reason enough for someone to try this form of therapy.
How Can You Decide Whether Dialectical Behavior Therapy is for You?
Speaking to a skilled mental health professional is the optimal way to determine whether dialectical behavior therapy might suit you. Remember that there are many different kinds of treatment, both of the talking variety and otherwise.
The best therapists are those who will have a frank conversation with you about your options. They can also usually give you an opinion about what method they feel you will respond to best.
What’s critical with this kind of therapy is that you probably can’t enact meaningful changes in your behavior until you understand why you feel the way you do. Getting to this point doesn’t usually happen overnight. It will take time and a lot of hard work.
Anyone who has found success with this treatment method will usually extol its virtues, though. It has gained a lot of supporters in recent years, both in the mental health profession and among individuals who have enacted positive changes in their lives because of it.
It’s certainly a viable option for many people and one you should consider if you’d like to modify certain behaviors.