Dialectical Therapy

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In 1993, Marsha Linehan created Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) by modifying Cognitive Behavior Therapy. She based DBT off of the idea that there should be a balance between acceptance and change, thus creating the “dialectic” from which the treatment’s name stemmed (Linehan 1993a; Linehan 1993b). She also integrated and adapted concepts from Zen teaching and practice (Rizvi and Linehan 2001). Although most well known as a treatment for Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD), Linehan originally developed DBT as a treatment for severe emotional and behavioral dysregulation, as well as, suicidal behavior (Miller 2015; MacPherson, Cheavens, & Fristad 2012).
The purpose of DBT is to replace maladaptive behaviors by turning them into adaptive
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It is important to note, that emotional regulation is defined as the extrinsic and intrinsic process of monitoring, evaluating, and modifying one’s emotional state (Wallace, Masson, Safer, & Von Ranson 2014; MacPherson et al. 2012). Dialectical Behavior Therapy has been found to be effective for treatment of individuals with substance use disorders, disordered eating, post traumatic stress disorder, to name a few (Miller 2015). It was originally designed as an outpatient treatment, but has since been expanded to a variety of settings including inpatient, partial hospitalization, and forensic settings (Dimeff & Linehan, 2001). There is no set duration for DBT. Random controlled trials studying DBT have varied in treatment duration, of as little as thirteen weeks to one year (Wallace et al. 2014; Federici, Wisniewski & Ben-Porath …show more content…
From an occupational therapy standpoint, DBT incorporates many aspects of the OTPF, as described above. Both share a common purpose with occupational therapy practitioners of improving quality of life. Along with the support of empirical evidence, DBT also was seen to decrease the frequency and need for extensive psychiatric services. The implications for this go beyond that of healthcare and extend to a decreased financial burden (Federici et al. 2011).
Most empirical research into DBT has focused on stage one, maladaptive behavior changes (MacPherson et al. 2012, Lynch et al. 2007) Further research should also look at the empirical support for stages two through four described previously.
Moreover, research that looks at both the qualitative and quantitative to find out the client’s perspective as to whether or not DBT is an effective form of treatment. Most of the studies read for the purpose of this paper were random control trial, quantitative papers. Although random control trials are thought to be the gold standard of effectiveness, it is also important to take into consideration client’s qualitative perspectives. Future research on DBT should also utilize larger sample sizes in order to maximize