Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT)

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Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) – This form of therapy was specifically designed for the treatment of BPD individuals, especially those with self-harm, self-injury or suicidal behaviors. DBT focuses on teaching the child or adolescent “mindfulness,” the ability to be aware of the moment in which they exist and attentive to the current situation and moods which run through them and those that surround them. The therapist teaches the client skills that will help him/her to control intense emotions, improve relationships (through the teaching of interpersonal effectiveness techniques), and reduce instances of self-harm, self-injury, or suicidal behaviors. Though it integrates characteristics from CBT, it differs in that it also teaches the concepts of mindfulness (living in and accepting the here-and-now moment) and acceptance along with teaching the individual techniques to help them improve their ability to tolerate stress and regulate strong, intense emotions. DBT recognizes the tension caused by the need for acceptance of beliefs accompanied by the need for changes in behaviors. Schema – Focused Therapy (SFT): Schema-focused therapy integrates facets of CBT as well as the elements of other forms of therapy which seem to work best for BPD and focuses on reframing schemas or perceptions. Schemas are the Put simply…perhaps too simply…it is not an easy disorder to have, deal with or live with, for the individual who has it or their loved ones. In her case, it “manifested” violently during her pre-teen years but she would not be formally diagnosed until the age of fourteen. As is common in cases of BPD onset, we suspect we know the trigger, but will never be certain. Having done much research through the ensuing years, however, there were

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