Dialectical Behaviour Therapy, or DBT, is an excellent treatment for adults with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, or ADHD. DBT was designed to treat individuals with borderline personality disorder, but has also proven effective in treating several other mental health disorders including depression and anxiety. The key to making DBT work in the context of ADHD treatment, however, are the three main principles of DBT skills training—mindfulness, distress tolerance, and interpersonal effectiveness—that are particularly helpful in tackling ADHD symptoms. Read on to learn more about how these principles can help you or your loved one live a more satisfying life while managing ADHD symptoms.
What is Dialectical Behaviour Therapy?
Dialectical Behaviour Therapy is a mental health therapy that was originally created to treat borderline personality disorder, but is now widely recognised as an effective treatment for a variety of issues, including depression and anxiety. It teaches mindfulness and emotional regulation skills. In general, it is designed to help people stop avoiding emotional pain and accept their feelings as a valid part of life. This can improve your relationships, your work life and overall quality of life. In many cases, DBT is paired with traditional therapy methods such as Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT). If you’re struggling with symptoms of depression or anxiety, talk to your doctor about whether DBT might be right for you!
What are the Components of Dialectical Behaviour Therapy?
Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT) is an evidence-based treatment that helps people who struggle with mental health issues like borderline personality disorder, self-injury, and suicidal ideation. The way it works in treatment is to improve ways of coping in four different areas: mindfulness skills, emotion regulation skills, distress tolerance skills, and interpersonal effectiveness skills. These four groups are called modules within DBT. When you’re learning about DBT therapy or want to try some of these techniques at home, there are specific skills that fall under each module. What follows is a brief overview of each area to help you better understand how they work together in order to foster personal growth.
How Does Dialectical Behaviour Therapy Work?
When many people hear behavioural therapy, they think of talk therapy, but that’s just one piece of a larger puzzle. In DBT treatment, therapists help you identify your emotions and come up with new ways to react to your situation. They’ll teach you tools to overcome difficult situations so you don’t have to resort to self-destructive behaviour patterns. The two techniques used in DBT are mindfulness and distress tolerance. You will learn how practicing mindfulness can be a way of accepting what is happening in your life at any given moment, while distress tolerance can help you cope with negative feelings without acting on them by using coping skills such as deep breathing exercises or muscle relaxation techniques.
Am I Eligible for Dialectical Behaviour Therapy?
Before asking if DBT is right for you, it’s important to know that not all therapists offer it. That’s because it’s an extremely in-depth treatment that requires therapists to have specialized training, supervision and experience treating borderline personality disorder, substance abuse disorders and other psychiatric conditions common in people with ADHD. So if you’re curious about DBT treatment, talk to your doctor or therapist first—or consider finding a therapist who offers DBT via individual or group sessions. That way you can try it out before committing to DBT as a long-term option.
