Dialectical Behavioral Therapy

Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT) was originally developed to treat individuals with borderline personality disorder and chronic suicidal thoughts. Over time, it has proven effective for a much wider range of conditions — particularly for people who experience intense emotions and struggle to regulate them.

DBT combines standard cognitive-behavioural techniques with mindfulness and acceptance strategies. The 'dialectical' part refers to balancing change and acceptance — you learn to accept yourself as you are while also working to change unhelpful patterns. Treatment typically includes both individual therapy and skills training groups.

At Nafs Wellcare, our DBT program teaches four core skill sets: mindfulness (staying present), distress tolerance (surviving crises without making things worse), emotion regulation (understanding and managing emotions), and interpersonal effectiveness (navigating relationships assertively and respectfully).