Dialectical behaviour therapy (DBT) is a form of therapy related to cognitive behavioural therapy that was originally developed to treat borderline personality disorder. It focuses on helping people control their emotions by recognising and accepting them.
There are three main aspects of dialectical behaviour therapy - cognitive behavioural therapy, validation and dialectics.
The cognitive behavioural aspect helps patients to learn new ways to think, feel and behave. This involves learning how to interact with people in new ways, exposing oneself to negative feelings, thoughts or situations, recognising negative thought patterns and learning how to adapt behaviour in a positive way.
The validation aspect helps patients understand that their feelings are reasonable given the situations they are in. This, alongside a push for change, helps a person feel less invalidated than cognitive behavioural therapy alone would. The dialectics part teaches a person to resolve the difference between selfacceptance and changes in behaviour.
