Dialectic Behavioral Therapy at Nina Lauren Psychotherapy in NYC
If managing conflicting emotions, a desire to improve your relationships, or feeling a need to reduce destructive behaviors are things you’re looking to achieve — then dialectical behavior therapy (DBT) might be a therapeutic treatment modality that works well for you.
Dialectic Behavioral Therapy
in a Nutshell
Developed as an evidence-based approach to help high-functioning individuals, DBT combines cognitive-behavioral techniques with mindfulness practices to create meaningful and lasting change.
At Nina Lauren Psychotherapy, our team’s integrative therapeutic approach weaves DBT with your personal therapy program. This can help you to manage your relationships and enhance your overall ability to better cope with whatever life throws at you.
- Dialectical behavior therapy (DBT) is an evidence-based approach to help high-functioning individuals cope with their emotions, build healthier relationships and reduce self-destructive behaviors.
- DBT focuses on four core skills — Mindfulness, Distress Tolerance, Emotion Regulation & Interpersonal Effectiveness, to create lasting positive change.
DBT is for High-Functioning Individuals
Dialectical behavior therapy is a well-established evidence-based therapy. As such, it’s shown great success in helping high-functioning individuals manage their emotions, improve relationships, and reduce destructive or harmful behaviors.
By combining these elements, DBT can effectively address mental health concerns, ranging from depression and anxiety to post-traumatic stress disorder.
Here at Nina Lauren Psychotherapy, because of our highly customized and unique to you treatment plans coupled with our virtual, online telehealth therapy approach, we primarily focus on the individual aspect of DBT.
DBT Helps You Find Balance and
Develop Emotional Resilience
Dialectical behavior therapy (DBT) is a unique form of therapy integrating cognitive-behavioral techniques with mindfulness practices. DBT emphasizes dialectical thinking, which involves holding two conflicting perspectives simultaneously. This approach allows individuals to find that delicate balance between acceptance and change. A balance ultimately leads to more constructive emotional regulation and much healthier coping strategies long-term.
Particularly effective in treating numerous mental health issues, DBT is proven effective for treating:
- Depression
- Anxiety
- Borderline personality disorder
- Eating disorders
- Post-traumatic stress disorder
By addressing underlying issues which contribute to someone feeling emotionally out of control, overwhelmed, or experiencing emotional dysregulation, DBT can help individuals develop the skills and resilience required to better navigate challenges in every area of their lives.
DBT Empowers You to Take Back Control
With numerous studies demonstrating its ability to treat a range of mental health issues, the effectiveness of dialectical behavior therapy is well-documented. In particular, DBT has been shown to be highly effective in treating borderline personality disorder, a condition characterized by intense emotional reactions and unstable interpersonal relationships. Furthermore, DBT has been found to help reduce suicide attempts and nonsuicidal self-injury (NSSI), making it a valuable treatment option for individuals struggling with self-harm behaviors.
The success of DBT is attributed to its unique combination of cognitive-behavioral techniques and mindfulness practices, which work together to help clients regulate their emotions, tolerate distress, and improve interpersonal effectiveness. By regulating emotions and teaching individuals to balance acceptance and change, DBT empowers clients to regain control of their emotional well-being and lead healthier, more fulfilling lives.
Dialectical Behavior Therapy Builds Critical Life Skills
and Emotional Awareness
DBT’s effectiveness lies in its ability to help individuals develop a range of crucial skills. By working intentionally to build out these skill sets, people gain valuable insight, allowing them to learn skills to better understand and manage their own emotions. Developing solid self-regulation skills leads to healthier decision-making and improved coping strategies — especially in the face of adversity.
Ultimately, this balanced approach to acceptance and change enables individuals to create lasting improvements in their emotional well-being and overall quality of life. Which in turn, facilitates one’s ability to not only reach their personal and professional goals but continue moving forward and along their path of successful living.
The Four Key Skills DBT Helps Cultivate to Elevate Emotional Awareness
Each of the four skills below plays a vital role in helping people navigate day-to-day challenges in healthy and productive ways. These are the life skill areas DBT focuses on building up:
- Mindfulness
- Distress tolerance
- Emotion regulation
- Interpersonal effectiveness
By mastering these foundational skills, people can cultivate a greater sense of emotional awareness. They also learn to name unwanted emotions, tolerate distress without resorting to (or depending on) unhealthy coping mechanisms, regulate emotional responses more effectively, and communicate assertively with others.
Frequently Asked Questions
Nina’s Quick Reference Guide About DBT
What mental health issues does DBT help with?
Dialectical behavior therapy (DBT) is effective in treating a range of mental health conditions, from Borderline Personality Disorder to depression and anxiety. DBT is particularly helpful for those with bipolar disorder who struggle with intense emotions, have difficulty regulating their behaviors, and have suicidal thoughts or actions.
DBT, as a form of cognitive-behavioral therapy, focuses on helping individuals identify and change unhelpful patterns of thinking and behavior. It also teaches skills to help individuals better manage their emotions, tolerate distress, and communicate more effectively.
Is DBT better than other methods?
The DBT program experience is designed to provide people with a more structured treatment approach to therapy that emphasizes skill-building, emotional regulation, and interpersonal effectiveness.
The way we view DBT at Nina Lauren Psychotherapy is from a both/and rather than an either/or perspective. Dialectical Behavioral Therapy is one of many tools in our therapeutic toolbox that we may use in our therapy sessions — if it’s an appropriate fit for you.
Our experienced integrative therapists understand the unique needs and bigger goals of each individual and then, customize treatment plans accordingly. With our collaborative and action-oriented approach, we take into consideration your personal values, unique worldview, cultural background, experiences, and current life circumstances, etc. This ensures the therapy program we create for you is not only effective but respectful of your unique experiences.
How long does it typically take for DBT to be effective?
On average it can take anywhere from six months up to a year for DBT to really show visible results. That said, this is based on a traditional DBT treatment program.
Because the approach we take at Nina Lauren Psychotherapy is more integrative, and because we highly customize our treatment modalities to match your particular needs and situation, this time frame can vary greatly. For a better assessment of timelines, we recommend having a conversation with your therapist to discuss your progress in more depth.
Will dialectical behavior therapy be part of my treatment plan?
At Nina Lauren Psychotherapy, due to our integrative, creative approach as therapeutic care providers, matching our clients with the most effective therapy for them is what’s important. Because of this, we shape the treatment for you based on your own unique situation and needs. And because the treatment modalities will vary from person to person, whether or not DBT is best for you at any given point in your healing journey will ultimately be determined by your therapist based on your goals, progress, and specific issues you’re dealing with at the time.
Here’s What Our Clients Have To Say
Nina hi!!! You have helped me grow, laugh, cry, work, and everything in between for almost three years (in a few days actually!) and I have cherished every single moment. You’ve seen my ups and downs for a really long time and you’ve caught every curveball I’ve thrown at you. I always looked forward to speaking with you because you always keep it real, and we get along so well. I really feel heartbroken but at the same time I will OBVIOUSLY keep you updated as I know you’re never far ❤️
Jen
You are such a good therapist and have helped me SO much during these difficult times- I appreciate you. i appreciate all of your help. i am definitely a mentally healthier human being because of you <3
Justine
Thank you so much for all that you helped me through. I truly felt so much growth since talking to you and I’m so grateful for that. Had we met differently I’m sure we most certainly would have been friends. You pulled so much out of me and helped me more than you know. Thank you 💛
Kate A.
Working with Nina has been the biggest blessing to my anxiety and irrational thoughts. She is incredibly considerate, compassionate, helpful in positively reframing thoughts, and very honest in helping you come to a more realistic conclusion than anxious thoughts allow. I am and will always be eternally grateful for her help.
Anonymous
Nina you changed my life, and I’m not saying that lightly, you really did, and I wouldn’t be in the place, emotionally if it wasn’t for you❤️…also, I wouldn’t be able to deal with life and it’s craziness in the same way as I do now. My boss better get me good insurance!!! And I will definitely keep you posted about the bar❤️
Kathy K.
You have helped me so much, through one of the most- if not *the* most- major mental health crises of my life, and I feel so much gratitude for you and all the ways your guidance and support helped alleviate the acute emotional pain I was in.
Katie L.
thank you for helping me get this smile back. hugs!
Jane
I am incredibly thankful for the time I spent working with Nina. Thanks to Nina’s guidance I feel so much more capable of regulating my emotions. She helped me deal with difficult life changes like a family member becoming terminally ill, the isolation of COVID, and my estrangement from a parent. Her guidance gave me confidence and allowed me to start seeing myself in a positive light after years of self-doubt. After hearing about my conversations with Nina, my sister jokes all the time that she should just hire her too!
Kaitlyn R.
I have been working with Nina for almost 2 years now. Starting therapy for the very first time, I had no idea what to expect or how it would help me. I have heard from friends that sometimes it takes a while to find the right therapist, some going through a handful before finding the RIGHT one. At our consultation, I immediately felt comfort in Nina’s voice, her tone. I knew that this could be MY therapist. She is extremely knowledgeable and intelligent. She has helped me tremendously and I look forward to being the best me, mentally, because of her.
Ashley K.
From the start of our therapeutic journey, Nina has always provided a safe place to share my thoughts, fears, and feelings. Her insight has helped me grow into the best version of myself. I am truly grateful for her expertise and empathetic outlook.
Kiara R.
