Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT) is a new form of therapy used for many psychological disorders. It was developed by Dr. Marsha Linehan at the University of Washington. Dr. Linehan has suffered from mental illness herself and has been dedicating herself to helpingwalk out of their emotional shadows.

Dialectical Behaviour Therapy was initially used to help individuals with Borderline Personality Disorder but is now used for people who have trouble managing their emotions, suicidal thinking or behaviour, self-injury, Bipolar Personality Disorder, depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder, alcohol or drug problems, eating disorders, chronic feelings of emptiness, etc.

DBT is a combination of mindfulness meditation and Cognitive Behavioural Therapy. Mindfulness helps the person acceptance of themselves and their situation and Cognitive Behavioural Therapy helps to change behavioural patterns. Two central goals in DBT are “learning to bear pain skillfully” and “creating a life worth living”.

In this interview we spoke with Sheri Van Dijk about DBT and her experience as a DBT provider in Newmarket, Ontario.

Sheri has written several books on DBT including:

Calming the Emotional Storm. This is an easy to read introduction to the dialectal behaviour therapy skills that can help readers to keep calm in the face of distressing emotions.

Don’t Let Your Emotions Run Your Life for Teens. This DBT workbook can help all teens with depression, anxiety, anger, bipolar disorder, and borderline personality disorder, take charge of their feelings.

The Dialectical Behaviour Therapy Skills Workbook – for Bipolar Disorder, using DBT to regain control of your emotions and your life.

The Bipolar Workbook for Teens. This book helps youth develop expertise and resources for managing bipolar disorder.

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