Life can feel overwhelming when emotions swing quickly, relationships feel intense or unstable, or coping strategies that once worked no longer do. Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) is an evidence-based approach designed to help people build skills for navigating intense emotions, improving relationships, and creating a life that feels more manageable and meaningful.
DBT balances two essential ideas: Acceptance and Change. You can learn to accept yourself and your experiences as they are, while also developing practical tools to change patterns that are causing distress.
Who DBT Can Help DBT can be especially helpful for people who experience:
Intense or rapidly shifting emotions
Difficulty managing stress or feeling easily overwhelmed
Relationship challenges, conflict, or fear of abandonment
Impulsivity or difficulty tolerating distress
Chronic feelings of emptiness, shame, or self-criticism
Anxiety, depression, or mood instability
Patterns of burnout, avoidance, or emotional shutdown
You do not need a specific diagnosis to benefit from DBT. Many people seek DBT simply because life feels harder than it should—and they want skills, not just insight.
Core DBT Skill Areas In DBT work, we focus on building skills in four key areas:
1.) Mindfulness Learn how to stay grounded in the present moment, observe your thoughts and emotions without judgment, and respond rather than react. Mindfulness helps create space between what you feel and what you do. 2.) Distress Tolerance Develop tools to get through painful moments without making things worse. These skills are about surviving crises, riding emotional waves, and learning how to cope when you cannot immediately change a situation. 3.) Emotion Regulation Understand your emotions more clearly and learn ways to reduce emotional vulnerability. Emotion regulation skills help you identify patterns, care for your nervous system, and respond to emotions with more balance and self-compassion. 4.) Interpersonal Effectiveness Build skills to communicate more clearly, set boundaries, ask for what you need, and maintain self-respect in relationships—without sacrificing connection or authenticity.
How DBT Is Offered DBT Treatment can be provided in a variety of ways:
Comprehensive DBT encompasses the full evidence-based model with four modes of treatment: weekly individual sessions, weekly DBT Skills Training Group sessions, between session phone coaching, and the DBT Therapist's participation in a weekly DBT Consultation Team. As a DBT Clinician, I am a member of the DBT of Greater Philadelphia Consultation Team.
For clients who are not in need of the comprehensive DBT model, DBT-Informed treatment may be integrated into individual therapy, skills-focused sessions, or group work, depending on your needs and goals. Treatment is collaborative and tailored—you are not expected to be “perfect” at using skills, only willing to practice.
DBT is practical, but it is also deeply validating. The goal is not to “fix” you, but to help you feel steadier, more capable, and more at home in your own life.
What You Can Expect Clients often report that DBT helps them:
Feel more emotionally stable and grounded
Respond to stress with greater confidence
Improve communication and relationships
Reduce emotional reactivity and overwhelm
Build a stronger sense of self-trust and resilience
Progress happens gradually. DBT is about learning, practicing, and returning again and again—with compassion for yourself along the way.
DBT Skills Training Group I also offer an adherent DBT Skills Training Groupthat meets virtually on Wednesday evenings. This group is designed to provide structured, supportive skill-building in a shared space with others who are working toward similar goals. DBT skills groups focus on learning and practicing tools from the four core DBT areas--mindfulness, distress tolerance, emotion regulation, and interpersonal effectiveness—in a collaborative and encouraging environment. Group members often find that learning alongside others helps normalize their experiences and strengthens their ability to apply skills in daily life.
DBT skills groups can be a powerful option whether you are:
New to DBT and looking for concrete tools
Familiar with DBT Skills and looking to strengthen or "refresh" your skills practice with structured support
Wanting additional support alongside individual therapy
Seeking a skills-focused, growth-oriented group experience