Many people who benefit from our DBT program experience pervasive difficulty with intense emotions. The way that each person experiences and responds to emotions may vary drastically. Some of our clients feel their emotions are out of control, leading to impulsive or destructive behaviors. Others may describe a feeling of numbness and have learned over time to suppress their emotions or have difficulty labeling the way they feel. In DBT, we aim to teach clients how to experience their emotions in a more healthy, effective way, integrate skills, and change problematic behavioral and relational patterns to ultimately experience life in a more productive and fulfilling way.
Many of our clients have current or previous suicide ideation, suicide attempts, and/or intentional, non- suicidal, self-injury. DBT has been demonstrated to be effective in treating these issues. Our DBT team at BPS is highly skilled in helping clients create a life that feels worth living and is dedicated to helping individuals reduce suicidal and self-harm urges and behaviors.
Emotion dysregulation is the inability to regularly use effective strategies to diffuse or moderate negative emotions. Problems related to difficulties with emotion regulation include:
Intense, painful emotions that feel unmanageable and out of control
Problems managing emotions such as anger, anxiety, shame, and sadness
Feeling numb and detached
Presence of suicidal or
self-harm behavior
Other risky, problematic behaviors
Interpersonal conflict, difficulty managing relationships
It is common for individuals seeking DBT to experience multiple, co-occurring, and chronic problems. These problems may include suicide or self-harm behaviors, impulsivity, depression, anxiety, PTSD, substance use, eating disorders, or other issues. Other problems may include general difficulty with daily functioning, employment, housing, and social difficulty.