DBT Therapists in Philadelphia Believe These 2 Things
/Philadelphia DBT Therapists Believe These 2 Things
You may have found this blog post on Dialectical Behavior Therapy because you’ve been told you need to have DBT. You’ve heard that DBT is different and yet you still don’t get it. You’ve been in therapy before and you’re still miserable. It didn’t work and you’re scared to even try.
Yet, the thought of continued emotional suffering is more than you can bear.
Many people find DBT because they’re at the end of their rope and DBT is their one last hope at finding relief from their emotional pain and suffering.
Not all Philadelphia Therapy is the same.
As I’ve written about before, DBT is different. Why is it different? The assumptions (beliefs) that DBT therapists hold are in part, what makes DBT stand apart from other forms of therapy. It was created for people, perhaps just like you, who have gone through therapy before and when it didn’t work, were blamed for why it failed.
Assumptions about DBT in Philadelphia
As I wrote about in my last post, DBT therapists hold certain assumptions about DBT clients and DBT therapy. As a DBT therapist, I use these assumptions to guide my clients’ treatment. I believe that these DBT assumptions have made a huge impact, specifically in my work with Borderline Personality Disorder treatment. Again, these assumptions held by DBT therapists, help make DBT the “Gold Standard” in BPD treatment.
My last post talked about the 1st assumption held by DBT therapists about their clients and therapy. The first assumption is that “Clients are doing the best they can.” If you missed that post, you can click here to read it.
DBT Assumption #2
Clients want to improve.
I’m going to guess that you’ve heard that you’re one of the reasons why therapy didn’t work. I’m also guessing you’ve been told that therapy wasn’t successful because you weren’t motivated enough- that somehow your lack of improvement was due to not “wanting it enough”.
You’ve heard this so often that you believe it.
When a therapist expresses that the reason you’re not getting better is due to your lack of motivation, or intention to improve, they may actually be contributing to your lack of progress.
“The assumption by therapists that failures to improve sufficiently or quickly are based on failure of intent, however, is at best faulty logic and at worst one more factor that interferes with motivation.”
It is often my experience that when a client returns to old behaviors to solve problems, despite its negative consequences, it’s not because my client isn’t motivated to improve. It’s often due to a variety of reasons.
One such example is that the problematic behavior may have worked to solve the problem before, and in the face of emotional distress, it feels so incredibly hard to try something different or a new way of solving the problem. It’s also been my experience that for someone to begin using new behavior to replace the problematic one, they need to believe that this new way will be just as effective or more in getting their problem solved.
It’s not that my clients are unmotivated in making changes or improvements, it means that they need to learn a different way to help them solve their problems.
DBT Assumption #3
Clients need to do better, try harder, and be more motivated to change.
Wait a second. How can I assume that clients want to improve and they need to do better, try harder, and be more motivated to change? On the surface, it may appear to be the opposite of “Clients want to improve.”
The concept that Borderline individuals want to improve doesn’t mean that their motivation and efforts are enough to help them get better. It’s been my experience that people with BPD have painstakingly put in their best effort only to continue to remain miserable. This leaves them feeling ashamed, defeated, and in even more emotional hell than before.
As a DBT therapist, I realize putting forth your best effort isn’t always enough to bring you out of hell. it is my job to help analyze what’s getting in your way, and what’s keeping you stuck.
When we work together, I have the opportunity to help you learn how to work harder, do better, and be more motivated to change.
DBT Therapy in Philadelphia
I know you want to improve and that you may just need help to learn how to improve. Dialectical Behavior Therapy provides clients with the help they need to learn how to effectively and skillfully solve the problems in their lives.
As a Philadelphia DBT therapist, I specialize in Dialectical Behavior Therapy to help people with Borderline Personality Disorder find relief from their emotional pain. My other specialties include anxiety counseling and trauma therapy.
Philadelphia Borderline Personality Disorder Treatment
You don’t need to continue to suffer from debilitating emotional pain, intense anxiety, and relationship toxicity. My virtual private practice provides outpatient DBT in Philadelphia. I offer free consultations for DBT therapy. Click HERE to book your own consultation for DBT therapy.
Been in therapy or counseling before and it didn’t help? Check out why DBT in Philadelphia may be right for you.