DBT Therapy in London - What is it?

Dialectical Behavioral Therapy, originally developed to treat borderline personality disorder, has turned out to have a much broader application. Currently, DBT therapy is used for many different types of disorders. What exactly is Dialectical Behavioral Therapy, what is it and who is it for?

What is Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT)? 

Dialectical behavioral therapy was created at the turn of the 1980s and 1990s by Marsha Linehan. The author of the therapy, in cooperation with Steven Hayes, initiated the so-called Third Wave of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy. Due to the fact that Linehan suffered from borderline herself in her youth, she knew perfectly well what problems are associated with this disorder. DBT therapy turned out to be a hit. City Psychological Services provide the best dbt therapy in London.

DBT psychotherapy is based on two theories of mental disorders – biosocial and dialectical. Biosocial theory assumes that emotional problems arise mainly from biological and environmental influences. It is they who can influence the fact that a person begins to have problems with emotions. Dialectical theory, on the other hand, refers to the reconciliation of opposites - thesis and antithesis - in the process of synthesis. The DBT theory is based on the fact that, on the one hand, the therapist should unconditionally accept the patient, and on the other hand, he must constantly strive to teach him to change his way of thinking. 

DBT therapy has a very wide application 

Initially, DPT psychotherapy was to be used for problems such as emotional fluctuations, impulsiveness and suicidal behavior. Broadly speaking, therapy was designed to treat people with borderline personality disorder. However, it soon turned out that problems with emotions occur in many other disorders. Later, this therapy began to be used not only in the treatment of borderline, but also in many other disorders.

DBT psychotherapy and eating disorders 

It is worth noting that DBT therapy allows you to achieve excellent results in the case of eating disorders, such as anorexia or bulimia, as well as in obese people. Numerous studies confirm that this type of therapy is also perfect for these disorders. 

This is because the assumption of mindfullness is used here, indicating, among other things, the need for careful, conscious intake of meals. The therapy also includes elements of meditation and allows you to develop the ability to regulate emotions. Thanks to this, people with eating disorders no longer have to regulate their emotions with food, which allows for very good results. 

The most important elements of therapy 

DBT psychotherapy combines various techniques used in cognitive-behavioral therapies. It is based on the foundation typical of the Third Wave, which is mindfulness thinking . It's all about unleashing incorrect thinking habits, accepting yourself and your life, focusing on what is here and now. 

DBT therapy is primarily aimed at showing the patient different shades of black and white. Often in colloquial language it is used to say that not everything is black and white. Unfortunately, for people with multiple disorders, that's just how the world is. The therapist's task is to show the patient different shades - namely, that sometimes something is true and sometimes it is not. The goal is to loosen the dichotomy in the perception of reality. 

What distinguishes DBT therapy from cognitive-behavioral therapy is even greater openness in contacts between the therapist and the patient. Importantly, the therapist has a clearly defined plan of action here, thanks to which he can implement the various stages of DBT therapy in turn. It is estimated that standard therapy lasts about two years - although of course this is greatly dependent on the individual patient. 

Expert opinion – what does the specialist think about DBT therapy? 

Dialectical-behavioral therapy (DBT) is an effective method of treatment not only in the case of borderline disorders, but also in many others - both in children and adults. Numerous studies show that this therapy allows you to achieve extremely good results, and to maintain them for a long time after the end of therapy. The combination of different approaches, including the way of thinking typical of the Far East, allows the patient to enter a state of emotional balance, as well as to teach him the correct thinking patterns, which translate into a better quality of his everyday life - sum up DBT specialists, cooperating with the Center for the Treatment of Eating Disorders "Otulenie". 

DBT Dialectical Behavioral Therapy in Warsaw

The Center for the Treatment of Nutritional Disorders "Otulenie" in Warsaw is a place where DBT therapy is used on a daily basis, and therapists have extensive experience in this field. It should be emphasized that specialists from the Center work in the integrative trend, during which not only DBT psychotherapy is used, but also CBT, Eriksonian or Gestalt therapy, as well as many other approaches. This allows for the creation of an optimal treatment method for each patient. In the case of people with eating disorders, DBT therapy used at the "Otulenie" Center allows you to achieve really good, long-term results.