Friday, May 12, 2017

NYC Dialectical Behavior Therapy Practitioners Help Many To Lead Normal Lives

By Joyce Sanders


There have always been members in any society that display behaviour that are deemed destructive and disruptive. Many of these people are suicidal, others harm themselves regularly and many others suffer from severe mood disorders. Unfortunately, society often shun these sufferers, thinking them mad or anti social. It is true, however, that they can be diagnosed and treated. In NYC dialectical behavior therapy has helped many mentally ill patients to once again enjoy life.

This treatment techniques was first developed by Marsha Linehan from the University of Washington. Its original purpose was to treat people with borderline personality disorders and those that are chronically suicidal. It soon became clear, however, that the techniques could also be used in the treatment of many other disorders, including eating and mood disorders. Survivors of sexual abuse and those inclined to harm themselves have also been treated successfully.

DBT is a fusion of standard cognitive techniques that are used to help patients regulate their emotions. However, these techniques are augmented by further methods derived from meditative Buddhist practices. Patients are introduced to the concepts of distress tolerance, mental awareness and acceptance. Clinical tests have shown that this combination of treatment techniques produce extremely positive results with fewer patients attempting suicide or self harm and a much lower drop out rate from treatment programs.

There are two components in every DBT program. Firstly, patients attend a psychotherapy session each week. In between sessions, patients can contact the therapist at any time. During these sessions patients are helped to examine the underlying reasons for their destructive behaviour. They also learn how to cope with or avoid situations that can be distressing and they are lead towards devising ways in which they can improve their own lives.

Individual sessions are augmented by weekly group sessions. During these sessions patients interact with each other. They learn that they are not the only ones suffering from destructive behaviour. They learn how to interact with others in a positive manner and how to cope with stress. The group sessions also focus on teaching patients how to control their emotions, especially when part of a group.

Treatment programs do not have fixed time tables. Each patient progress at his own pace. However, as with many psychological treatment programs, patients do not progress unless they accept the fact that they have a problem and develop a strong desire to overcome those problems. Some DBT practitioners advocate a tough love approach where patients are confronted with their problems and where they have to choose between treatment and rejection.

DBT has some critics too. They say that therapists design their programs to deal with a single disorder. This will not produce results, they say, because most patients suffer from a number of disorders that must all be treated simultaneously. Critics also lament the fact that no research is conducted to follow up the progress of patients that have completed treatment programs.

People suffering from mental disorders used be be scorned by society. They were described as mad, disturbed or plain stupid. Thankfully, programs such as DBT can help such patients to regain fulfilling and productive lives.




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