Dialectical behavior therapy is a mental health treatment approach that promotes living life in the present and helps clients develop a variety of healthy methods for managing stress, finding balance in their emotional life, and improving the most critical relationships with family, friends, and coworkers. A dialectical behavior therapy program can be life-altering for anyone hoping to recover fully from an addiction to drugs or alcohol. If you or someone you love is struggling with a drug or alcohol use disorder, find out how our dialectical behavior therapy program in Rhode Island can play a supporting role in your own personal recovery story.
Call 888.541.4028 or reach out online to get started.
What Is a Dialectical Behavior Therapy Program?
Dialectical behavior therapy, or DBT, was first pioneered in the 1980s. It was originally presented as an effective way to treat borderline personality disorder. For many people, a DBT program has been effective in also treating substance abuse in patients who learn to overcome and heal from many co-occurring issues in conjunction with their substance abuse, including:
- Depression
- Trauma
- Eating disorders
- Suicidal ideation and other mental health conditions
In our dialectical behavior therapy program, you will be treated as a whole person and learn to address your substance abuse as well as the underlying reasons why you first began and continued to use drugs, alcohol, or misusing prescription medications. This is one key reason why a DBT program works for those actively working to overcome their addiction.
The Benefits of DBT
During your time in our dialectical behavior therapy program in Rhode Island, you will work with a compassionate team of skilled professionals, each possessing a wealth of experience. These caring counselors and therapists will support you at every step of the way and usher you through individual and group therapy with a successful recovery as the goal.
Building healthy coping skills in a group therapy environment can promote learning and foster a culture of idea-sharing among other clients who are walking similar paths. When it comes to a DBT program, this is a vital piece of the therapeutic puzzle. The group therapy experience is critical to the DBT methodology and, in turn, its success.
Dialectical behavior therapy works because it focuses on providing clients like you with essential skills in four important areas:
Mindfulness
To be mindful is to live in a state of active, open, and present attention to life and all that you have to be thankful for every day. Practicing mindfulness has the ability to teach you how to observe your thoughts and feelings without judging yourself and how to be present in your own life. Clients accomplish this through mindfulness exercises that are practiced during therapy.
Distress Tolerance
Instead of turning to substances like drugs and alcohol to escape negative emotions, lessons learned in a dialectical behavior therapy program will teach you distress tolerance. This will increase your tolerance of negative thoughts and feelings as you learn to cope with harmful triggers.
Emotion Regulation
Your addiction may be masking serious mental health concerns caused by intense emotions that seem unmanageable without the use of drugs or alcohol. While participating in a dialectical behavior therapy program, you will learn different methods for managing your feelings and making important changes to your emotions.
Interpersonal Effectiveness
Many patients who are suffering from addiction struggle in relationships with family, friends, classmates, and coworkers. Learning interpersonal effectiveness in a DBT program will provide you with techniques for communicating with other people in a way that will maintain your self-respect while also building healthier relationships.
Contact Rhode Island Addiction Treatment Centers for the Next Steps in Your Recovery
Drugs and alcohol cause more damage than just to your physical body. A mental health treatment program that uses dialectical behavior therapy can help you understand how to take back control over your life, relationships, and emotions. Reach out today by calling 888.541.4028 or reach out online to learn more about how a dialectical behavior therapy program can be a vital part of your recovery.