Doing Dialectical Behavior Therapy

Filled with vivid clinical vignettes and step-by-step descriptions, this book demonstrates the nuts and bolts of dialectical behavior therapy (DBT). DBT is expressly designed for--and shown to be effective with--clients with serious, multiple problems and a history of treatment failure. The book provides an accessible introduction to DBT while enabling therapists of any orientation to integrate elements of this evidence-based approach into their work with emotionally dysregulated clients. Experienced DBT clinician and trainer Kelly Koerner clearly explains how to formulate individual cases; prioritize treatment goals; and implement a skillfully orchestrated blend of behavioral change strategies, validation strategies, and dialectical strategies. See also Dialectical Behavior Therapy in Clinical Practice, Second Edition: Applications across Disorders and Settings, edited by Linda A. Dimeff, Shireen L. Rizvi, and Kelly Koerner, which presents exemplary DBT programs for specific clinical problems and populations.

Dialectical behavior therapy (DBT) is expressly designed for - and shown to be effective with - clients with serious, multiple problems. Filled with vivid clinical illustrations, this volume provides an accessible introduction to DBT and demonstrates the nuts and bolts of implementation. Kelly Koerner is an experienced DBT clinician and trainer and longtime collaborator of the therapy's originator, Marsha M. Linehan. In straight-talking language, Koerner shows therapists of any orientation how to integrate the concepts and techniques of DBT into their work with emotionally dysregulated clients. The book presents a roadmap for understanding and treating self-destructive behavior, including suicidality, and helping clients develop the crucial capacity to regulate their emotions. Koerner explains the DBT approach to case formulation, offering guidance for prioritizing therapeutic goals and creating an individualized treatment plan. Extensive sample dialogues reveal what the core strategies of DBT -- behavior change, validation, and dialectical strategies -- look like in action. Concrete suggestions are provided for dealing with common challenges, such as how to offer validation and acceptance in the midst of emotional dysregulation. Focusing on the moment-to-moment process of therapy, Koerner identifies specific things the therapist can say and do to keep the relationship strong while moving urgently for change. The book also discusses the critical importance of DBT peer consultation teams for therapists doing this demanding work. Clear and practical, this is an essential guide for clinical psychologists, social workers, counselors, and psychiatrists, both experienced DBT therapists and those seeking new ideas for addressing tough-to-treat problems.

By a distinguished team of authors, this workbook offers readers unprecedented access to the core skills of dialectical behavior therapy (DBT), formerly available only through complicated professional books and a small handful of topical workbooks. These straightforward, step-by-step exercises will bring DBT core skills to thousands who need it.

This influential work has now been substantially revised with over 60% new material reflecting over a dozen years of research and clinical advances. Leading experts describe innovative ways to use dialectical behavior therapy (DBT) in a wide range of real-world clinical and community settings. The volume provides wise guidance on setting up, running, and evaluating a comprehensive DBT program. It also presents adaptations designed to meet the needs of particular client populations as time- and cost-effectively as possible. Vivid case examples illustrate diverse applications of DBT for helping adults, adolescents, and children reduce suicidal and self-harming behavior; overcome complex, multiple challenges; and build a life worth living. New to This Edition *Presents current best practices for making DBT more efficient and accessible while maximizing program fidelity. *Chapters on additional populations, including persons with posttraumatic stress disorder and preadolescent children. *Chapters on additional settings, including milieu-based programs, university counseling centers, and middle and high schools. *Chapters on pharmacotherapy, promoting employment and self-sufficiency, training and supervision, and DBT beyond Stage 1. See also Doing Dialectical Behavior Therapy: A Practical Guide, by Kelly Koerner, which demonstrates DBT techniques in detail.

The key to flexible, skillful decision making in dialectical behavior therapy (DBT) lies in understanding the connections between moment-to-moment clinical strategies and core principles. This lucid guide from leading DBT authority Charles R. Swenson offers clinicians a compass for navigating challenging clinical situations and moving therapy forward--even when change seems impossible. Numerous vivid case examples illustrate DBT in action and show how to use skills and strategies that flow directly from the fundamental paradigms of acceptance, change, and dialectics. Clinicians gain knowledge and confidence for meeting the complex needs of each client while implementing DBT with fidelity.

Filling a tremendous need, this highly practical book adapts the proven techniques of dialectical behavior therapy (DBT) to treatment of multiproblem adolescents at highest risk for suicidal behavior and self-injury. The authors are master clinicians who take the reader step by step through understanding and assessing severe emotional dysregulation in teens and implementing individual, family, and group-based interventions. Insightful guidance on everything from orientation to termination is enlivened by case illustrations and sample dialogues. Appendices feature 30 mindfulness exercises as well as lecture notes and 12 reproducible handouts for "Walking the Middle Path," a DBT skills training module for adolescents and their families. Purchasers get access to a Web page where they can download and print these handouts and several other tools from the book in a convenient 8 1/2" x 11" size. See also Rathus and Miller's DBT? Skills Manual for Adolescents, packed with tools for implementing DBT skills training with adolescents with a wide range of problems.ÿ

Marsha Linehan tells the story of her journey from suicidal teenager to world-renowned developer of the life-saving behavioral therapy DBT, using her own struggle to develop life skills for others. “This book is a victory on both sides of the page.”—Gloria Steinem “Are you one of us?” a patient once asked Marsha Linehan, the world-renowned psychologist who developed Dialectical Behavior Therapy. “Because if you were, it would give all of us so much hope.” Over the years, DBT had saved the lives of countless people fighting depression and suicidal thoughts, but Linehan had never revealed that her pioneering work was inspired by her own desperate struggles as a young woman. Only when she received this question did she finally decide to tell her story. In this remarkable and inspiring memoir, Linehan describes how, when she was eighteen years old, she began an abrupt downward spiral from popular teenager to suicidal young woman. After several miserable years in a psychiatric institute, Linehan made a vow that if she could get out of emotional hell, she would try to find a way to help others get out of hell too, and to build a life worth living. She went on to put herself through night school and college, living at a YWCA and often scraping together spare change to buy food. She went on to get her PhD in psychology, specializing in behavior therapy. In the 1980s, she achieved a breakthrough when she developed Dialectical Behavioral Therapy, a therapeutic approach that combines acceptance of the self and ways to change. Linehan included mindfulness as a key component in therapy treatment, along with original and specific life-skill techniques. She says, "You can't think yourself into new ways of acting; you can only act yourself into new ways of thinking." Throughout her extraordinary scientific career, Marsha Linehan remained a woman of deep spirituality. Her powerful and moving story is one of faith and perseverance. Linehan shows, in Building a Life Worth Living, how the principles of DBT really work—and how, using her life skills and techniques, people can build lives worth living.

A clear and effective approach to learning evidence-based DBT skills—now in a fully revised and updated second edition. Do you have trouble managing your emotions? First developed by Marsha M. Linehan for treating borderline personality disorder, dialectical behavior therapy (DBT) has proven effective as treatment for a range of other mental health problems, and can greatly improve your ability to handle distress without losing control and acting destructively. However, to make use of these techniques, you need to build skills in four key areas: distress tolerance, mindfulness, emotion regulation, and interpersonal effectiveness. The Dialectical Behavior Therapy Skills Workbook, a collaborative effort from three esteemed authors, offers evidence-based, step-by-step exercises for learning these concepts and putting them to work for real and lasting change. Start by working on the introductory exercises and, after making progress, move on to the advanced-skills chapters. Whether you’re a mental health professional or a general reader, you'll benefit from this clear and practical guide to better managing your emotions. This fully revised and updated second edition also includes new chapters on cognitive rehearsal, distress tolerance, and self-compassion. Once you’ve completed the exercises in this book and are ready to move on to the next level, check out the authors’ new book, The New Happiness Workbook.