DBT in Philadelphia: The Practical Way to Help You Solve Your life’s Problems

You’ve been to therapy before. The stuff you talked about in therapy didn’t do very much to help you feel any better. You learned some things, but when it came to actually using what you talked about in therapy in your real life? Well… it just didn’t happen. You were still miserable, angry at life, and emotionally reactive.

You want to find a DBT therapist in Philadelphia to help you feel better; to learn how to solve the problems in your life that are causing you so much emotional pain. You’re tired of feeling like sh*t. You’re tired of your relationships causing you pain. You’re tired of feeling guilt and shame from your failed attempts at therapy.

Beliefs about Philadelphia DBT Therapy

DBT therapists have several beliefs they hold about therapy and their clients. I’ve written about the DBT assumptions in my last several posts. If you missed them, here’s a brief review.

The first DBT assumption is “Clients are doing the best they can”. To read the full post on the 1st DBT assumption, click here. The 2nd & 3rd DBT assumptions are “Clients want to improve” and “Clients need to do better, try harder, and be more motivated to change”. Click here to read the full post on DBT assumptions 2 & 3. My most recent blog post, here, was written about DBT assumptions #4- “Clients may not have caused all of their own problems, but they have to solve them anyway”, and DBT assumption #5- “The lives of suicidal, Borderline individuals are unbearable as they are currently being lived”.

 DBT Therapy 6th Assumption

“Clients must learn new behaviors in all relevant contexts.”

When you’re in DBT, learning new skills, practicing them, and then using them when you’re in crisis can be difficult to do. When you’re in DBT Skills Training, you may feel like, “yeah, I got this” and then later on, outside of skills training, when sh*t hits the fan, life smacks ya in the head with a big, “nope, you don’t.”

This DBT assumption takes into account the example above. Individuals with Borderline Personality Disorder are mood-dependent. That means that while learning new DBT skills, Borderline individuals need to make the changes necessary while under emotional duress, and not just when they’re in a calm state.

So, what may be a very chaotic, emotionally driven situation for someone with BPD, it is also the ideal time for that person to implement those DBT skills she’s been learning in skills training.  

In other words-

During times of emotional stress and chaos are the ideal times to be learning new DBT behavioral skills.

It’s important to know that as a DBT therapist, it is not my role to “take care of” my client when she’s under extreme emotional distress. It is my role during times of emotional crisis to help my client take care of herself during those moments, in the form of coaching her through the crisis using DBT skills.

Think about it this way-

As I mentioned in a prior post, insight alone will not help my client create a life worth living. It’s one thing to “know” the skills to use, and another to actually put them into practice during those moments of emotional turmoil and crisis.

I hope this helps provide additional information on Dialectical Behavior Therapy and helps you understand a little bit more about why it’s considered the “Gold Standard” for Borderline Personality Disorder treatment.

Wondering if DBT therapy in Philadelphia is right for you?

If you’re struggling with Borderline Personality Disorder and not sure if DBT is for you, reach out today. As a DBT therapist in Philadelphia, I provide outpatient DBT. My specialties include online DBT for Borderline Personality Disorder treatment, help for anxiety, and trauma therapy.

Outpatient DBT in Philadelphia

You can find relief from your emotional suffering and maintain healthy relationships. I offer free 15-minute consultations for DBT therapy in Philadelphia. You can book your own DBT therapy consultation HERE.