If you are in recovery, you have a range of treatment modalities that can help you with your addiction. Therapy is there to give you a better understanding of things like personal triggers, more insight into the influence of mental health on addiction, and the tools you need to change your outlook and manage addiction on your own.
One such therapy is dialectical behavioral therapy or DBT.
What is Dialectical Behavior Therapy?
Dialectical behavioral therapy is an offshoot of cognitive behavioral therapy. It was developed in the 1980s and used to treat severe mental health disorders and conditions with suicidal ideation.
The biggest difference between CBT and DBT is that DBT focuses on validating uncomfortable feelings instead of trying to avoid or work around them. Today, DBT is often used for borderline personality disorder, depression, anxiety, and addiction.
Four Skills
When you participate in dialectical behavior therapy for addiction, you will learn four key skills. These skills are designed to help you change unhelpful thoughts or behaviors. Techniques and strategies for this include:
- Mindfulness: Mindfulness teaches you to be more mindful or aware of how you feel instead of trying to hide, push away, or otherwise ignore difficult emotions, and this allows you to sit with your whole self and process some of the less comfortable aspects of addiction in a successful way
- Interpersonal Efficacy: Interpersonal efficacy helps you to repair your relationships and maintain healthy relationships moving forward, which can build a successful, sober life
- Emotional Regulation: Emotional regulation allows you to control your emotional responses to things and, through this control, temper what would otherwise be situations or triggers that cause you to relapse
- Distress Tolerance: Distress tolerance is an essential component of addiction recovery as it teaches you to sit with discomfort, to recognize that there will be uncomfortable or distressful thoughts and feelings no matter how hard you work or what you do, but you have the power to build your tolerance toward them and therefore diminish their impact
These four skills are taught through individual therapy and group skills training at your treatment center.
Benefits of Dialectical Behavior Therapy for Addiction
There are many benefits for those who participate in dialectical behavior therapy for addiction, including the following:
- A decreased amount of substance abuse
- A decreased level of physical discomfort during withdrawal
- A decreased level of impulsivity and cravings
- Increased enforcement of boundaries for sustained sobriety
- Increased ability to avoid triggers or events that might encourage relapse
- A decreased number of problematic behaviors that might contribute to addiction
- Increased number of healthy relationships
- Increased participation in community
When used specifically for addiction, dialectical behavioral therapy has been shown to increase treatment success for people who have co-occurring disorders, particularly borderline personality disorder and addiction.
DBT has also helped individuals remain committed to their abstinence and improve their motivation to try different techniques and activities.
DBT helps individuals prevent relapse and, if they do relapse, learn from that situation and repair the harm that may have happened.
The overall effectiveness of dialectical behavior therapy for addiction is based on the individual. DBT is something that an individual has to participate in, learn from, and apply to their daily lives. Some studies indicate that those who show up regularly to a DBT treatment plan have significant reductions in relapse compared to those who drop out and don’t complete a plan.
Moreover, it is only one part of comprehensive care for people who are struggling with addiction and should be used as a single part of a personalized treatment plan.
Starting Dialectical Behavior Therapy with Sequoia Recovery
At Sequioa Recovery, we specialize in a wide range of therapies, offered at all levels of care. As part of our inpatient drug rehab or outpatient program you can participate in dialectical behavior therapy for addiction and reap the many benefits.
Our team combines several modalities to increase the efficacy based on your needs. For things like underlying mental health disorders in addition to addiction, dialectical behavioral therapy can help you change your perspective, while things like meditation and mindfulness can help you manage your stress and build emotional resilience.
We work with every client to create personalized treatment plans so that you get the most out of your recovery, building life skills and coping mechanisms that prepare you for transitioning back to everyday life.