Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) for PTSD

Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) for PTSD PTSD Treatment Print Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) for PTSD By Matthew Tull, PhD twitter Matthew Tull, PhD is a professor of psychology at the University of Toledo, specializing in post-traumatic stress disorder. Learn about our editorial policy Matthew Tull, PhD Medically reviewed by Medically reviewed by Steven Gans, MD on August 05, 2016 Steven Gans, MD is board-certified in psychiatry and is an active supervisor, teacher, and mentor at Massachusetts General Hospital. Learn about our Medical Review Board Steven Gans, MD Updated on January 19, 2020 Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Overview Symptoms & Diagnosis Causes & Risk Factors Treatment Living With In Children Moment /Joe Houghton / Getty Images Dialectical behavior therapy (DBT) was originally developed to help people struggling with the symptoms of borderline personality disorder (BPD). Many people with BPD also have PTSD, and vice versa. Although people with PTSD and BPD have different symptoms, they share some of the same problems, such as: Difficulty managing emotionsInterpersonal problemsHigh risk of impulsive behavior You wont be surprised then, to discover that some researchers are beginning to explore whether DBT may help people with PTSD. What Is DBT? DBT, considered a cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), focuses on changing poorly formed thoughts, behaviors, and beliefs as a way of reducing a persons BPD symptoms. However, DBT differs from traditional CBT. How? By also emphasizing acceptance of the persons emotions and thoughts. In fact, DBT was one of the first CBT treatments to use mindfulness skills to help achieve this acceptance. DBT is based on the idea that the most important problem among people with BPD is difficulty managing their emotions (also called emotion dysregulation). Many of the problem behaviors of people with BPD (for example, deliberate self-harm) are thought to arise from problems they have managing their emotions. Emotion-management problems stem from a combination of: Biology (such as a persons tendency to experience emotions intensely)A childhood environment where emotions were ignored or where expressing them was punished Therefore, DBT focuses on improving emotion-management problems and the problem behaviors that they cause. Therapists who provide DBT use and teach four different types of skills: Mindfulness meditation skillsInterpersonal effectiveness skillsDistress tolerance skillsEmotion regulation skills Exploring the Usefulness of DBT for PTSD The skills used in DBT, originally developed for people with BPD, may also greatly benefit people with PTSD. Just like people with BPD, people with PTSD have problems managing their emotions. They may also have problems with relationships or engage in self-destructive behaviors, such as deliberate self-harm. To explore whether DBT might be effective in people with PTSD, a group of researchers at the Central Institute of Mental Health in Mannheim, Germany, treated a group of women who had PTSD (from childhood sexual abuse) using an intensive treatment that combined DBT and traditional CBT approaches to PTSD treatment, such as exposure. The joint treatment was referred to as DBT-PTSD. After three months of treatment, the researchers found that DBT-PTSD significantly reduced the womens PTSD symptoms, including depression and anxiety. In addition, the womens PTSD symptoms were still improving six weeks after they completed the treatment, suggesting that they may have learned skills during the study that helped them continue to recover from PTSD after the treatment ended. Why More Research Is Needed Research on DBT-PTSD is in its earliest stages. Studies are needed to explore how DBT-PTSD compares to other CBT treatments for PTSD. However, the results are promising. If youre interested in learning more about DBT, a number of resources are available on Dr. Marsha Linehans Behavioral Tech website, including a database of mental health professionals who have been trained in, and can provide, DBT. The 9 Best Online Therapy Programs