Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) on the Main Line
Mindfulness, Interpersonal Effectiveness, Emotion Regulation, and Distress Tolerance Skills
Break free from old patterns and become the most effective version of yourself with DBT.
Individual DBT Skills Coaching
I offer individual DBT skills coaching as a standalone treatment or woven into your overall treatment as needed.
DBT Groups
DBT groups are similar to taking a class, where there is a curriculum, homework, and a workbook.
Click to learn more about DBT groups at Calm Pathway
Learn more about DBT at Calm Pathway
What is DBT?
Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) was founded in the late 1970s and early 1980s by Dr. Marsha Linehan (Linehan, 1993). Dr. Linehan developed DBT to help her patients who were struggling with chronic suicidal thoughts and behaviors by incorporating aspects of Zen Buddhism into conventional behavioral therapy techniques. There are 4 main components of DBT: Mindfulness, Interpersonal Effectiveness, Emotion Regulation, and Distress Tolerance. DBT is an evidence-based treatment for borderline personality disorder (BPD), and is now recognized to help treat many different mental health issues, including: anxiety, depression, eating disorders, trauma, autism spectrum disorder, among others.
What are dialectics?
Dialectics are opposing components that exist simultaneously. For example: light and dark, up and down, left and right. In DBT, the main dialectics we emphasize are acceptance and change—acceptance of the present moment as it is, AND using effective tools to change one’s circumstances. According to Dr. Linehan, in order to impart effective change, we must first accept reality as it is. That is, accepting the facts of a situation to be real and true. We don’t have to accept things that aren’t facts (“I’ll never get the job I want,” “I’m always going to be stuck,” etc.).
In DBT we practice holding dialectical thinking in our everyday lives in the form of “yes, and…”: “I love my kids so much AND I feel exhausted by them,” “I don’t want to get out of bed AND getting out of bed will help me feel better,” “I dislike my job AND showing up means I can pay my bills.” Dialectical thinking helps us to regulate our emotions by reducing all-or-nothing, black-and-white thinking patterns that cause us to go into an emotional state of mind. Instead of “I hate my brother,” we can practice dialectical thinking by reframing: “I love my brother AND I’m really upset with him.” Notice the difference?
The 4 Modules of DBT
Mindfulness
Mindfulness is the backbone of DBT. All DBT skills require mindfulness in some form, which is why we always teach the mindfulness module first. In DBT, mindfulness simply means noticing without judgment. It sounds simple, but it can take a lot of effort to be mindful. The ultimate goal of DBT is to live a mindful life, incorporating skills seamlessly into everyday living. In DBT, we break down mindfulness into concrete, specific skills so that you can practice them with intention.
According to Linehan (1993), some the benefits of regular mindfulness practice include:
- Improvements in physical health, relationships, and distress tolerance
- Reduction in symptoms of anxiety and depression
- Reduction of pain symptoms and improvements in coping with pain
- Enhanced immune response
- Increased activity in brain regions associated with positive emotions
- Plus more
Interpersonal effectiveness
The interpersonal effectiveness module focuses on a set of skills to help us be more assertive and confident in our relationships. We learn how to ask for what we want or say “no” to unwanted requests effectively. We also learn the best way to maintain our sense of self respect while strengthening our bonds with others during the interpersonal effectiveness module.
Emotion regulation
Do you ever feel like your emotions hit you like a ton of bricks out of nowhere? In the emotion regulation module, we learn about where our emotions come from, why they show up, and how to change them or reduce their intensity. We learn to stay in control of our emotions rather than letting them control us.
Distress tolerance
The distress tolerance module is focused on crisis survival skills, or how to get through an intensely stressful or overwhelming situation without making things worse by turning to old habits. We learn science-backed skills to help us tolerate the moment that can be called upon at a moment’s notice.
Virtual DBT group starting January 26, 2026!
Mondays 1-2pm held on Zoom
Led by Stella Kimbrough, LCSW