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How DBT Led Me to My Soulmate
Dialectic Behavioral Therapy is the key to a happy relationship
In the spring of 2019, after finally escaping the on-again-off-again toxicity of my latest relationship, I went back to therapy. (If you’re a regular reader of my blog, it was this guy). The counseling center in my town offered a kind of two-for-one group and individual therapy bundle, and knowing I needed as much help as I could get, I dove in head first.
In my one-on-one sessions, as is customary with talk therapy, I mostly blabbered on about my feelings and received affirmation from my counselor. The group sessions focused instead on the skills within the Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT) manual.
What even is DBT?
DBT is “a structured program of psychotherapy with a strong educational component designed to provide skills for managing intense emotions and negotiating social relationships.”
The manual is divided into four sections: Mindfulness, Distress Tolerance, Emotional Regulation, and Interpersonal Effectiveness.
Each week, the two lead counselors would share a video or activity related to one of the skills, targeting one section at a time throughout a three-month period so that at the end of one calendar year, participants will have worked through the entire curriculum. At the end…
