Dialectical Behavior Therapy

Dialectical Behavior Therapy or DBT is an evidence-based treatment that was created by Marsha Linehan in the 1980s. DBT was originally created to treat highly acute borderline personality disorder. Linehan based DBT after having worked as a CBT therapist but realized that CBT was missing one key component; acceptance.

Dialect
The D in DBT stands for dialectical. The definition of a dialect is two seemingly opposite truths that exist at the same time. A good example of a dialect is I love you and I hate you. The world is full of dialects and DBT encourages the acceptance of living in the dialectic. 

Mindfulness
The cornerstone of DBT is mindfulness. According to Linehan, without the practice of mindfulness it would be nearly impossible to recognize and describe emotions that are coming up when high stress situations occur. Being mindful can be done in many ways including mindful walking, mindful driving or mindful eating. These are daily activities that most people engage in and by practicing them mindfully will create more insight into feelings and experiences that are coming up in the body.