What Is DBT — and Why Does It Work?
Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) is an evidence-based treatment developed by Dr. Marsha Linehan. Originally designed to help people struggling with intense emotional pain, suicidality, and self-harm, DBT is considered the gold standard for treating Borderline Personality Disorder. Research has shown DBT can help everyone who struggles with BIG emotions  — including anxiety, depression, trauma responses, and impulsive or self-defeating behaviors. DBT is an emotion-focused behavioral therapy, and it works by helping people accept their current emotional experience while also learning the skills to change the patterns that no longer serve them.

As an intensively trained DBT therapist, I use this approach to support highly sensitive people who often feel overwhelmed by the intensity of their emotions. My work integrates DBT with mindfulness, trauma-informed care, and deep compassion to help you find calm, clarity, and meaningful change.

A Therapy Born from Lived Experience
In 2011, Dr. Linehan shared publicly for the first time that she herself had experienced chronic depression, suicidal thoughts, and self-harm in her younger years. Her personal journey is what inspired her to develop a treatment for people suffering in the same way she once did. DBT is the result of that promise — a therapy built not just on clinical research, but on deep empathy and understanding.

What Does “Dialectical” Mean?
The word dialectical refers to the idea that two seemingly opposite things can be true at the same time. For example: “I’m doing the best I can” and “I want to do better.” DBT helps us move away from rigid, black-and-white thinking and toward a more balanced, flexible mindset. This is especially powerful for highly sensitive people who often experience extremes in thought and emotion. In therapy, we work on accepting your reality as it is while also creating meaningful change — not either/or, rather both/and.

Core Goals of DBT
The primary goals of DBT are to help people stay present, regulate their emotions, cope with stress in healthy ways, and improve their relationships. For highly sensitive people, this means learning how to feel deeply without being consumed by your emotions — and how to move through life with more intention, resilience and confidence in your own choices.

What Does Adherent DBT Include?
Adherent, or comprehensive, DBT includes four key components: weekly individual therapy with a trained DBT therapist, skills training groups to build and practice new tools, phone coaching for in-the-moment support between sessions, and a therapist consultation team to ensure high-quality care. While not everyone needs the full model, many benefit from its structure, consistency, and clarity.

The Four Core Skill Modules
DBT teaches four powerful skill sets. Mindfulness is the foundation — it helps you become more aware of your thoughts, feelings, and sensations without judgment. Distress Tolerance teaches you how to get through emotional crises without making things worse, and how to accept what can’t be changed in the moment. Emotion Regulation helps you understand what’s behind your emotional intensity and gives you tools to manage and shift painful emotions over time. And Interpersonal Effectiveness shows you how to communicate clearly, navigate conflict, ask for what you need, and maintain healthier, more balanced relationships.

DBT for Highly Sensitive People
If you often feel like your emotions are too intense, too unpredictable, or just too much — DBT can help. It offers a framework that honors your sensitivity while giving you the tools to feel more stable, present, and in control. You don’t have to shut down who you are to feel better. You just need the right support to work with your emotional depth — not against it.

If you’re ready to explore whether DBT is a good fit for you, I’d love to connect.