Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT) is a psychosocial treatment developed for patients with borderline personality disorder which combines intensive individual and group therapy.

Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT) was developed for treating Borderline Personality Disorder by Marsha M. Linehan. Some therapists avoid treating patients whom they suspect may suffer from BPD, because of the demands some BPD patients put on the therapist. These demands include multiple phone calls after hours, suicidal ideation and suicidal threats, lack of respect for the therapist's boundaries or the boundaries of other patients and staff, aggressive outbursts and stalking.

DBT incorporates an intense program of weekly individual therapy sessions and weekly group therapy sessions.

Individual therapy focuses on addressing a prioritized set of issues starting with self-injury, then behaviors which disrupt therapy, then behaviors which disrupt healthy living. Patients are trained in a regime of four skills known as mindfulness, emotion regulation, interpersonal effectiveness and distress tolerance.

Treatment