Dialectical behavior therapy (DBT) provides clients with new skills to manage painful emotions and decrease conflict in relationships. DBT specifically focuses on providing therapeutic skills in four key areas.
1. mindfulness focuses on improving an individual's ability to accept and be present in the current moment.
2. distress tolerance is geared toward increasing a person’s tolerance of negative emotion, rather than trying to escape from it.
3. emotion regulation covers strategies to manage and change intense emotions that are causing problems in a person’s life.
4. interpersonal effectiveness consists of techniques that allow a person to communicate with others in a way that is assertive, maintains self-respect, and strengthens relationships.
