DBT involves learning and practicing concrete coping skills, with the goals of better regulating emotions, tolerating distress, communicating effectively, setting boundaries, and changing harmful behaviors.

This can be especially helpful if your emotions feel overwhelmingly intense, you react in ways you later regret, or your relationships often feel difficult to navigate. For those who have done therapy or prioritized self-analysis in the past, you may understand your patterns or which behaviors you want to change, but still struggle to respond differently in the moment.

The “D” in DBT stands for dialectical, signifying that two seemingly opposite things can be true at the same time. Think of it like replacing the word “but” with “and”:

I can accept that this is where I am right now, and still want to work toward something different.

Centering both acceptance and change is central to my work. We make room for where you are right now without treating it as somewhere you have to stay. 

DBT may help you:

• Understand and move through intense emotions without becoming more overwhelmed.

• Pause before reacting in ways that escalate a situation.

• Communicate more clearly and set boundaries.

• Build practical skills that support the life you want.