Dialectical Behavioral Therapy, often called DBT therapy, is a method of treatment that was devised by Marsha Linehan, faculty at the University of Washington in Seattle, for the treatment of borderline personality disorder (BPD). The D in DBT stands for dialectical which means two things that are in conflict with each other yet they are both true.  A few examples are overeating but wanting to be thin, wanting to be treated as an adult but acting like a child and wanting to be loved and cared for while pushing people away. The therapy helps people learn to balance self and others, giving and getting, needs and wants, work and play, and winning and losing. It teaches that life may not always be black or white but many shades of gray. A good example is politics. There are always opposing viewpoints but there is also agreement on some issues. Below is a very short description of the four modules.

Mindfulness Skills
Mindfulness skills will help you stay in the here and now. You will be more aware of things around you and how you are feeling at a particular time. When you are using mindfulness skills you aren’t dwelling on the past or feeling fearful about the future.

Distress Tolerance Skills
Distress Tolerance skills teach techniques that help in learning how to tolerate frustration. You will learn how to deal with stressful situations in skillful ways.

Emotion Modulation Skills
Emotional Modulation Skills teach healthier ways to cope with intense, emotional experiences and their causes. These skills help with learning impulse control. You can learn techniques to help you tolerate and cope with strong emotions without falling apart. Reactions will stop being so automatic but more thought out.

Interpersonal Effectiveness Skills
Interpersonal effectiveness skills focus on effective ways of achieving one's objectives with other people: to ask for what one wants effectively, to say no and be taken seriously, to maintain relationships and to maintain self-esteem in interactions with other people. The skills learned are similar to assertiveness training but they go further in helping the client deal with other people in a healthy way. They help the person learn to speak up for themselves, avoid arguments and unpleasant interactions with others.