DBT

Dialectical behavioral therapy (DBT) helps you accept the unchangeable in life while increasing your control over your own thoughts, emotions, and behaviors. At Happy Apple, based in Columbus Circle, Manhattan, and serving Midtown, Central Park South, the Upper West Side, and the Upper East Side of New York City, Maggie Vaughan, MFT, PhD, and the team recommend DBT for managing depression, anxiety, borderline personality disorder, and other mental health diagnoses. Call Happy Apple or book an appointment online to see if you can benefit from DBT today.

How does dialectical behavioral therapy work?

DBT is an evidence-based approach to psychotherapy that can help you manage your mental and behavioral health. Similar to cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), DBT works best for people who experience intense emotions. 

DBT helps you accept the realities of life you cannot change while also empowering you to change unhealthy emotions and behaviors associated with these realities. Most people benefit from being in DBT for at least six months to a year, during which you work closely with a licensed therapist on your personal goals. 

DBT typically involves some homework or suggested changes you should try to make in your daily life. Implementing what you learn in DBT can drive positive change in your perspectives and behaviors. 

Who can benefit from dialectical behavioral therapy?

The Happy Apple team recommends DBT in a variety of circumstances, as it can treat several common mental and behavioral health conditions. Even if you’ve tried other therapeutic approaches without much success, DBT may be able to help you better manage emotions and behaviors that stem from:

• Borderline personality disorder (BPD)
• Suicidal behavior
• Depression
• Anxiety
• Substance use disorder
• Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)

The team helps you establish goals early in treatment that you can work toward during personalized DBT sessions with your therapist at Happy Apple. 

What are the possible benefits of dialectical behavioral therapy?

Everyone’s situation is different, and your personal experience with DBT is unique to you according to your background and primary mental health concerns. You can gain many possible benefits from participating in DBT, especially if you do your homework and apply the skills you learn during your sessions. 

Some possible benefits you might gain are:

• Reduced substance or alcohol use
• Reduced depressive symptoms
• Less self-harm
• Less anger
• A more positive outlook
• Fewer hospitalizations for mental health

You may need to try several different therapeutic approaches before you find one that works well for you and your personal concerns. 

Call Happy Apple or schedule an appointment online to find out if DBT is a good fit for your counseling experience today.