Handle life’s ups and downs with confidence
DBT Therapy in CT, NY, NJ and FL
Are you someone who…
Feels overwhelmed by intense emotions?
Struggles with impulsivity?
Has been noticing frustrating, negative patterns in your relationships that you can't seem to break?
Feel as though your emotions and reactions hit like a ton of bricks and seem to come out of nowhere?
You might be feeling unsure of how to cope with intense emotions that make you feel helpless and even out of control. I want you to know that there is a way to feel empowered to respond, rather than react to the challenges that you are facing in your life.
Dialectical Behavior Therapy helps you to build the skills that you need in order to finally feel in control of your emotions, your relationships and your future. DBT equips you with practical tools that teach you to manage the difficulties you might be facing in your life right now, so that you can move into your future with confidence.
What is DBT?
Dialectical Behavioral Therapy is a type of therapy that was designed to equip clients with coping skills to help them to handle distressing emotions and situations more effectively. While DBT was originally created for individuals suffering from borderline personality disorder (BPD,) it has also been proven to be a very effective treatment for mood disorders such as depression or bipolar disorder, anxiety disorders, post-traumatic stress disorder as well as several other conditions.
DBT can help you to gain the practical skills you need to understand, manage, and cope with your emotions and teach you healthier ways of coping with distressing life situations. It teaches you to better navigate complex relationships, improves your communication skills and assertiveness and reduces conflict. Through the use of mindfulness skills, a core component of DBT, you can gain the self-awareness that you need to make better decisions and more easily regulate painful emotions.
First, we’ll start with an assessment to see whether DBT is a good fit for the specific needs, challenges, and goals that you are facing right now. If DBT is the right fit for you, we’ll address your treatment goals and help you to learn and practice the skills that you need as well as address the current difficulties that you are facing in your life.
You’ll also attend weekly DBT group therapy sessions in which you will learn the coping skills that will equip you with the tools to help you make the changes you want. In these groups you will also receive support and feedback from others in a supportive environment. The skills that you are learning in the group will be reinforced by practicing the skills in your daily life. This will help you to effectively apply what you have learned to real life situations so that you are able to shape a new future.
● Improve your ability to manage intense emotions.
● Respond rather than react to difficult emotions and life situations.
● Communicate more effectively, improve relationships, and set boundaries that are in keeping with what you need and value.
● Identify and gain greater insight and awareness into your thoughts and feelings.
● Navigate distressing emotions and life challenges without engaging in destructive behaviors.
DBT can help you…
Virtual Women’s DBT Group
This DBT group is open to women who are eager to enhance their emotional resilience, improve their self-esteem, and develop practical tools for managing life's ups and downs. Whether you are dealing with anxiety, depression, self-destructive behaviors, or relationship difficulties, these groups can provide a supportive and non-judgmental environment for your growth.
I run a virtual DBT group that meets once a week on Tuesday evenings from 6:00-7:00 pm. The group is all female, covers the curriculum of Marsha Linehan's DBT Skills Training: Handouts and Worksheets and is appropriate for ages 18 and older. *
The group is open to residents of CT, NY, NJ, and FL. The group is in-network with United Healthcare, Connecticare, Aetna, Oxford, Oscar, UMR and UHC Student Resources for residents of CT, NY, NJ and FL and is available out-of-network for $65.
*The Tuesday group is open to anyone who identifies as female.
Please contact me for additional information.
FAQs about DBT
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DBT skills aim to help improve your ability to navigate the various challenges of daily life more effectively. The four modules include:
• Mindfulness: The practice of being fully aware and focused in the present instead of feeling stuck in worry about the past or future.
• Distress tolerance: Understanding and learning how to manage your emotions in challenging or highly stressful situations without resorting to harmful behaviors.
• Interpersonal effectiveness: Learning how to ask for what you want and need and set boundaries while maintaining respect for both yourself and others.
• Emotion regulation: Gaining greater understanding, awareness and improved control over your emotions.
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According to a study conducted by R. Lakeman et al. in 2022, which analyzed data from eleven different studies conducted between 2010 and 2021, virtual Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) was found to be "more accessible, acceptable, and equally as safe and effective as face-to-face delivery" (Lakeman et al., 2022).
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No. While DBT was originally designed for individuals with borderline personality disorder (DBT), it's now used to treat individuals with multiple diagnoses who have difficulties with emotional dysregulation, distress tolerance, interpersonal relationships, and impulsivity.