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Dialectical Behavior Therapy

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Description of Dialectical Behavior Therapy Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) is a comprehensive cognitive-behavioral treatment developed by Marsha M. Linehan for the treatment of complex, difficult-to-treat mental disorders. Originally, DBT was developed to treat individuals diagnosed with borderline personality disorder (BPD; Carson-Wong, Rizvi, & Steffel, 2013; Scheel, 2000). However, DBT has evolved into a treatment for multi-disordered individuals with BPD. In addition, DBT has been adapted for the treatment of other behavioral disorders involving emotional dysregulation, for example, substance abuse, binge eating, and for settings, such as inpatient and partial hospitalization. Dimeff and Linehan (2001) described five functions …show more content…

Finally, therapist may be reinforced for iatrogenic treatment, where they reward clients for ineffective treatment strategies and punish them for effective treatment strategies. To address these difficulties, Linehan developed several modifications which formed the basis of DBT. (Dimeff & Linehan, Dialectical behavior therapy in a nutshell, 2001) DBT is designed to treat clients at all levels of severity and complexity of disorders. A growing body of empirical studies has examined DBT. DBT has been the subject of the most study and is the most widely used (Carson-Wong, Rizvi, & Steffel, 2013). In one study, Axelrod, et al. (2011) adapted DBT to treat pre-adolescent children who were engaging in nonsuicidal self harming behaviors. The goal of this study was to adapt DBT skills to accommodate the developmental level of younger children. The results of the study provided promising evidence for the use of DBT for children with severe suicidal and nonsuicidal behaviors. At the end of the study, there was a significant increase in adaptive coping skills and a significant decrease in depressive symptoms, behavioral problems and suicidal ideations. However, there are several limitations to this study. One, the sample size is small, and there results may not generalize to other populations. Second, the study was conducted for only six

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