Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT)
Building emotional balance, navigating difficult moments and strengthening relationships.
Sometimes emotions can feel overwhelming, making it difficult to know how to respond to challenging situations. You might find yourself reacting more strongly than you intended, struggling to manage distress or experiencing recurring difficulties in relationships.
Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT) offers practical skills and strategies to help you understand and manage emotional experiences, navigate difficult moments and develop healthier ways of relating to yourself and others.
At Field and Mind Psychology, Carla Fadelli draws on DBT-informed strategies to support individuals in developing emotional awareness, resilience and practical skills for everyday life.
What is Dialectical Behaviour Therapy?
Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT) is an evidence-based psychological approach originally developed to help people experiencing significant emotional difficulties.
DBT combines principles of cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) with mindfulness, acceptance and practical behaviour-change strategies.
A central idea in DBT is finding a balance between acceptance and change. This means learning to acknowledge and understand your current experiences while also developing the skills to make positive changes in your life.
Rather than judging yourself for experiencing difficult emotions, DBT helps you understand what is happening, recognise your responses and develop more effective ways of managing challenging situations.
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Everyone experiences difficult emotions, but sometimes managing them can feel particularly challenging.
You might notice patterns such as:
Experiencing emotions that feel intense or difficult to manage.
Reacting impulsively when feeling upset, overwhelmed or frustrated.
Finding it difficult to calm down after an emotionally challenging situation.
Feeling anxious about rejection, conflict or abandonment.
Experiencing recurring difficulties in personal relationships.
Struggling to communicate your needs or establish healthy boundaries.
Feeling overwhelmed by stress or uncertainty.
Being highly self-critical after emotional reactions.
Finding it difficult to balance your own needs with the expectations of others.
These experiences can affect relationships, decision-making, confidence and overall emotional wellbeing.
DBT offers practical tools to help you recognise these patterns and respond in ways that better support your needs.
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DBT focuses on four key areas that work together to support emotional wellbeing and healthier responses to life's challenges.
1. Mindfulness
Learning to become more aware of the present moment, including your thoughts, emotions and physical sensations, without immediately judging or reacting to them.
Mindfulness helps create space between an experience and your response, allowing you to make more intentional choices.
2. Distress Tolerance
Developing skills to manage difficult situations and intense emotions without making circumstances worse.
These strategies can help you navigate emotional distress, tolerate uncertainty and get through challenging moments when problems cannot be immediately resolved.
3. Emotion Regulation
Learning to recognise, understand and manage emotional experiences more effectively.
This includes identifying emotional triggers, understanding what influences your feelings and developing strategies to reduce emotional vulnerability and respond more constructively.
4. Interpersonal Effectiveness
Developing healthier communication and relationship skills.
This involves learning how to express your needs, establish boundaries, manage disagreements and maintain relationships while also respecting your own values and wellbeing.
Together, these four skill areas provide practical strategies that can be applied in everyday situations.
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DBT and DBT-informed strategies may be helpful for individuals experiencing:
Difficulties managing intense emotions.
Anxiety and emotional overwhelm.
Stress and difficulty coping with challenging situations.
Impulsive reactions or behaviours.
Relationship conflict or communication difficulties.
Sensitivity to rejection or interpersonal challenges.
Difficulties establishing and maintaining boundaries.
Persistent feelings of frustration, shame or self-criticism.
Challenges with emotional regulation.
A desire to develop healthier coping strategies.
DBT may also benefit people who want to strengthen their emotional awareness, improve their relationships and develop practical tools for managing everyday challenges.
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Therapy provides an opportunity to understand your emotional experiences, identify patterns and develop practical skills that can be used outside the therapy room.
Depending on your individual needs and therapy goals, sessions may involve:
Identifying emotional triggers and recognising early warning signs.
Understanding how thoughts, feelings and behaviours influence one another.
Learning mindfulness and grounding techniques.
Developing strategies for managing emotional distress.
Practising healthier responses to difficult situations.
Exploring communication skills and relationship patterns.
Learning to express needs and establish boundaries.
Developing greater self-compassion and emotional awareness.
You may also be encouraged to practise specific skills between sessions so that they become easier to access when challenging situations arise.
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One of the central principles of DBT is the idea that acceptance and change can exist together.
Sometimes, we need to acknowledge and accept our current circumstances, emotions or experiences before we can begin making changes.
For example, you may recognise that a particular situation has triggered feelings of anger, sadness or anxiety. Rather than judging yourself for having those feelings or reacting immediately, you can learn to pause, understand what is happening and choose a response that better reflects your needs and intentions.
This balance can help you develop a more compassionate relationship with yourself while building the skills needed to navigate life's challenges.
A personalised approach to therapy
At Field and Mind Psychology, Carla recognises that emotional experiences and personal circumstances are different for everyone.
DBT-informed strategies may be incorporated alongside other therapeutic approaches, depending on your individual needs, experiences and therapy goals.
Sessions provide a supportive environment to explore emotional patterns, develop practical coping skills and strengthen your ability to manage challenging situations.
The aim is to help you feel more confident in understanding your emotions, responding to difficulties and building healthier relationships with yourself and others.
Interested in exploring DBT-informed therapy?
Learning to manage difficult emotions and navigate relationships takes time. You don't need to have everything figured out before beginning.
If you would like to develop practical skills for emotional regulation, distress tolerance and healthier relationships, Carla welcomes you to get in touch to discuss whether DBT-informed therapy may be helpful for you.