Philadelphia DBT: What makes DBT different & Why does it matter?

You may have found Dialectical Behavior Therapy as a last resort. You’ve previously had bad experiences in therapy, and you’re scared that DBT will be the same.

As a DBT therapist in Philadelphia, I’ve heard so many stories from people about what therapy looked like before they found me. I don’t know why it still astounds me to find out what their experience in therapy was actually like.

My clients expressed feeling unheard, blamed, and told they weren’t trying hard enough. I’ve heard from others that they didn’t even know what they were even working on with their prior therapist. Another common complaint I’ve heard is that when in the therapy session, they just “shoot the sh*t” with their therapist, and nothing gets accomplished, leaving them feeling “stuck.” One client told me that her prior therapist laughed at her emotional suffering, saying, “what could you possibly have going on that’s upsetting you so much?”

Not all therapy or therapists in Philadelphia are the same.

It’s a common misconception that a “therapist is a therapist is a therapist”. As I’ve blogged about before, not all therapy or therapists are the best fit for each and every person. This is one reason why I literally want to jump through the computer when I see ads from companies offering online, all-access therapy, to people for an obscenely low fee. But I digress….

So… while those examples above may have “worked” for some people (although I find it hard to wrap my brain around how laughing at someone’s problems is helpful…) not all therapy is simply the best fit for everyone.

DBT Assumptions about Clients and Therapy in Philadelphia

DBT Assumptions about Therapy & Clients: A Blog Post Series

As with most therapy approaches, DBT therapists hold assumptions (beliefs) about DBT clients and DBT therapy. In Dialectical Behavior Therapy, the beliefs we have about our clients and therapy help provide us with guidelines for the course of treatment.

These DBT assumptions about therapy and clients have made a huge impact on my work with people struggling with Borderline Personality Disorder. I feel that it is those DBT assumptions, in part, that helped make DBT the “gold standard” of treatment for BPD.

Dialectical Behavior Therapy Assumption #1

Clients are doing the best they can.

How many times have you heard “you just need to try harder”?

For people with BPD, they have heard this repeatedly throughout their lives.

A therapist’s assessment and treatment of a client’s problems will be very different if the therapist believes that you’re doing the best you can, instead of thinking you’re just not trying hard enough or choosing to not put in the effort.

What a difference how each belief can make in treatment!

For someone with BPD who’s been historically and consistently invalidated, being told by their therapist that they aren’t getting better because of their lack of trying, can be one of the most devastatingly invalidating experiences in therapy.

It’s no wonder why so many clients feel that they are doomed to be “Borderline” forever!

Philadelphia Dialectical Behavior Therapy

As a DBT therapist, I guide my treatment based on the belief that clients are doing the best they can. I truly believe this. That’s why I’m better able to assess their behavior and target treatment more effectively.

Imagine working with me, your DBT therapist, and being genuinely acknowledged and heard.

Imagine being given a reason(s) for why you’ve been unable to make the changes you want to see, that is NOT based on not working hard enough.

 Guess what? A “lack of effort” is not the reason you’re still struggling.

Your DBT Therapist in Philadelphia

As a Philadelphia DBT therapist, I specialize in DBT to help people who struggle with Borderline Personality Disorder, anxiety disorders, and/or experienced trauma. Please don’t give up finding relief from your emotional suffering, overpowering anxiety, and relationship drama. You deserve to create a life worth living.

Reach out today. I offer free, 15-minute, consultations for DBT therapy in Philadelphia. You can book your own DBT consultation HERE.