Comprehensive DBT vs. DBT Informed Therapy
/Have you heard the terms DBT informed therapy and adherent/comprehensive DBT thrown around but feel lost about what the heck they mean? You’re not alone! Keep reading to learn more about these two modalities and the important distinctions between them.
What is DBT?
DBT stands for Dialectical Behavior Therapy which is a type of therapy that was created by Dr. Marsha Linehan in the 1980s. It was originally created for the treatment of Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD), however, research has shown that it is effective for a number of other mental health struggles such as depression, chronic suicidal ideation, self-harm, bulimia, binge eating, PTSD, and substance use. The tagline of DBT is “building a life worth living”.
The skills component of DBT helps folks build mindfulness skills, distress tolerance skills, emotion regulation skills, and interpersonal effectiveness skills.
The D in DBT stands for dialectical. The term “dialectical” refers to a synthesis of opposites or a “both, and” perspective instead of an “either/or” perspective. In DBT, the principal dialectic is acceptance and change. DBT therapists balance accepting clients for where they are, as well as working to help their clients change. The skills component of DBT is also dialectical in nature, with some skills focusing on acceptance and other skills focusing on change.
The B in DBT stands for behavioral. The behavioral component refers to focusing on changing or modifying behaviors that are creating dysfunction or pain in your life.
The T in DBT stands for therapy, which is fairly self explanatory!
What is comprehensive or “adherent” DBT?
Comprehensive/adherent DBT consists of 4 modes of treatment:
Individual therapy with a DBT therapist
Skills training (typically done in a group setting but can also be done individually)
Phone coaching between sessions
Consultation team for the therapist
All of these components are viewed as equally important and all combine to create a highly evidence-based form of therapy. Comprehensive DBT is different than traditional talk therapy as it is highly structured and holds to very specific principles and processes. There is still room for flexibility and customization, however, all of these components must be present for it to be considered comprehensive DBT.
What is DBT informed therapy?
DBT informed therapy includes some principles of comprehensive DBT but not all. Not everyone who can benefit from DBT needs comprehensive DBT, so DBT informed therapy can be a good fit for some people. It’s important to know that while some components of DBT have been researched on their own, DBT informed therapy doesn’t have the same research base as comprehensive DBT.
There isn’t a standard to what DBT informed therapy consists of, it’s simply when therapists provide some components of comprehensive DBT but not all, so it’s important to ask your provider what DBT informed means to them. DBT skills can benefit almost everyone (even those without a diagnosable mental health condition), so DBT informed therapy may be the right fit for you even though it doesn’t contain all of the elements of comprehensive DBT.
Does The Gaia Center offer comprehensive DBT and/or DBT informed therapy?
I (Colleen) offer both comprehensive DBT and DBT informed therapy. In addition, Kaitlyn King, Marissa Smarto, and Mary Morrow all enjoy incorporating DBT skills in their work with clients.
