DBT - Interested in what you think of this therapy approach, if you have used it

[Still Standing]

Ok, I would be interested in what you think of this therapy approach if you have used it. I have downloaded the booklet but am overwhelmed with all the information. Admittedly, I’m not able to process it well because of lack of focus.

 

[breathinginreverse]

Hello! I am brand new here, but I’d like to respond to you because I do have experience with DBT. I started seeing a new therapist last fall (my therapist of TWENTY YEARS decided that she could no longer help me) and when she heard what was going on for me she really wanted to try EMDR. We did a sort of exploratory EMDR session, and I had a very negative reaction. Total meltdown, it was horrible. So she decided we needed to work up to that and offered DBT as an alternative. I purchased the workbook and we worked our way through it. At that time, what I was mostly trying to work on was my anger response to my triggers. I wanted to stop reacting in anger. So, it was very helpful. It basically taught me to understand my behavior chain a bit better, and there is a heavy focus on distraction and self care. If you are looking to change specific behaviors, I think it is a good approach.

That said, I ended up not working with that therapist anymore for several reasons, but the main one was that I now feel really frustrated that we didn’t go deeper to understand WHY I was triggered, or WHY I had a fight response, and instead I just spent almost a year basically just ignoring my triggers and suppressing my anger. I’m currently looking for someone who can help me with Internal Family Systems, which seems like it might be a good approach for me.

 

[Still Standing]

Hello! I am brand new here, but I’d like to respond to you because I do have experience with DBT. I started seeing a new therapist last fall (my therapist of TWENTY YEARS decided that she could no longer help me) and when she heard what was going on for me she really wanted to try EMDR. We did a sort of exploratory EMDR session, and I had a very negative reaction. Total meltdown, it was horrible. So she decided we needed to work up to that and offered DBT as an alternative. I purchased the workbook and we worked our way through it. At that time, what I was mostly trying to work on was my anger response to my triggers. I wanted to stop reacting in anger. So, it was very helpful. It basically taught me to understand my behavior chain a bit better, and there is a heavy focus on distraction and self care. If you are looking to change specific behaviors, I think it is a good approach.

That said, I ended up not working with that therapist anymore for several reasons, but the main one was that I now feel really frustrated that we didn’t go deeper to understand WHY I was triggered, or WHY I had a fight response, and instead I just spent almost a year basically just ignoring my triggers and suppressing my anger. I’m currently looking for someone who can help me with Internal Family Systems, which seems like it might be a good approach for me.

Thank you, breathinginreverse. You shared exactly want I needed to know. I, too, have tried EMDR and it is really hard and can be brutal, in my experience. Prior to that, we tried CBT and stopped after I kept feeling like I was in school and flunking the worksheets. My frustration over these approaches were the same as yours, we never talked about the reasons for my behaviors, fears, and triggers. We practiced distractions, relaxations, and finally switched to a therapy abbreviated and called, ARC. It was similar to the CBT. I have since switched into the care with other healthcare people and am going to start doing DBT. I am a bit wary of it. But, I will give it a try.

I hope you stick around here. This is a good place to have a resource for questions and support. You will certainly find others who can relate to your own struggles and trauma.

 

[rosey]

I think it depends on where you are and if its self help dbt. I believe in the USA dbt groups are long term a year or over, dbt is best suited that way. Here in the UK it tends to be a much more watered down approach. However there are some great therapists who do it one-to-one rather than in a group setting.

My experience of DBT was that parts were extremely other parts not at all so.