Dialectical Behavior Therapy
Also written as: DBT — Dialectical Behavior Therapy
A cognitive-behavioral treatment that emphasizes emotion regulation, distress tolerance, and interpersonal effectiveness skills.
Full Definition
Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) is a comprehensive cognitive-behavioral treatment originally developed for borderline personality disorder that combines standard cognitive-behavioral techniques with mindfulness and distress tolerance skills. The approach emphasizes the dialectical balance between acceptance and change, teaching patients to tolerate distressing emotions while developing skills to modify problematic behaviors. DBT typically includes individual therapy, skills training groups, phone coaching, and therapist consultation teams to provide a complete treatment package.
Usage
Usage note: Always capitalize when referring to the specific therapeutic modality.
In Context
- "The patient demonstrated significant improvement in self-harm behaviors following six months of dialectical behavior therapy." — Psychiatric evaluation report
- "Dialectical behavior therapy modules include mindfulness, distress tolerance, emotion regulation, and interpersonal effectiveness." — Treatment protocol manual