Beginner's Guide To Dialectical Behavior Therapy
Dialectical behavior therapy is a form of counseling used to treat a range of mental health issues, particularly borderline personality disorder and eating disorders. The therapy combines methods used in both cognitive behavioral therapy and behavioral therapy to help patients improve their mindset and wellbeing. Specifically, dialectical behavior therapy aims to give patients healthy coping mechanisms and other tools that will help them convert negative thinking patterns and destructive behavior into something with a positive, healthy outcome. This form of psychotherapy was first developed in the 1980s by a team of cognitive behavioral psychologists. Led by Dr. Marsha Linehan, these psychologists were struggling to achieve positive outcomes in patients with borderline personality disorder solely with cognitive behavioral therapy methods, and this led them to create the new therapeutic approach that became known as dialectical behavior therapy.