Cognitive Behavioral Therapy

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) is an active, goal-oriented treatment, which focuses on skill development.  CBT proposes that an individual's thoughts, behaviors, and emotions are interrelated and that change in one faction of the triad results in change in all areas. Treatment is a collaborative venture between clinician and client, which supports the client in developing more adaptive, or helpful, behaviors and thoughts. The client's ability to consistently engage and sustain these more adaptive behaviors and thoughts result in improved overall functioning.  CBT has been found to be effective at treating numerous psychological issues, such as anxiety, depression, and bipolar. To learn more read, What is Cognitive Behavior Therapy ?, at the Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies. 

DIALECTICAL BEHAVIOR THERAPY 

Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) is an intensive and comprehensive form of CBT treatment, which focuses on increasing emotional and behavioral regulation.  Dialectical thinking, or thinking which synthesis two opposing concepts, is at the core of DBT. The balance of both acceptance and change based techniques represent the primary dialectic assumption that clients must first accept themselves, while acknowledging the need to change to achieve their goals. Comprehensive DBT requires clients participate in individual therapy, skills training groups, and phone coaching. Family involvement is heavily integrated into treatment for adolescent clients. Initially developed to treat chronically suicidal individuals, research has determined that DBT is highly effective at treating a wide range of disorders and maladaptive behaviors, including chronic suicidality, self-harm / nonsuicidal self-injury,  personality disorders, substance dependence, depression, post-traumatic stress disorder, and eating disorders. 

To learn more read, What is DBT?, at Behavioral Tech.