Using DBT As A Component For PTSD Treatment Granbury TX

By Dorothy Sullivan


People who suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder often experience a host of symptoms that go hand-in-hand with this illness. They may experience frequent bouts of anxiety and panic. They also might suffer from debilitating depression that leaves them unable to get out of bed for days on end. All of these symptoms combined can make it difficult or impossible for sufferers to engage fully in society. By undergoing dialectical behavior therapy as part of your PTSD treatment Granbury TX patients like you might regain your good mental and emotional health in a matter of months.

A therapist named Marsha Lenahan developed DBT more than 20 years ago. From its relatively humble beginnings to now, it has gained increasing notice among therapists and psychologists who treat patients for a host of mental ailments like depression and anxiety. It was originally created to address bipolar disorder in patients. However, it has shown effective in treating more conditions like panic disorder and severe depression in patients.

Patients are taught four components of good mental health. These components are Core Mindfulness, Distress Tolerance, Interpersonal Effectiveness, and Emotion Regulation. Within these four components of DBT are skills that patients learn and practice during the time they are in the therapy. These skills include mindfulness, effectiveness, radical acceptance, distraction, and opposite-to-emotion actions.

Mental health patients who go through DBT have a statistically higher chance of recovering from their mental health conditions and enjoying longer recovery rates. Many of them do not need further care and can even be weaned off psychiatric medications they have taken for depression, anxiety, and bipolar disorder. They are able to be discharged from therapeutic care.

Patients practice their skills in group sessions with their fellow classmates. They also practice with therapists who lead their groups. However, outside of the therapy group, people also are expected to practice these skills on their own. They keep track of their progress with diary cards they must turn in weekly to their therapists.

The diary cards are an important facet of this type of therapy because they report behaviors that could signal a patient's need for more intensive therapy. For example, the diary cards ask people to report behaviors like feeling suicidal or wanting to cut themselves. They also ask about dangerous behaviors like not taking medications or using drugs or alcohol. All of the behaviors are rated on a scale of zero to five.

They also take part in individual therapy sessions on a weekly basis. These sessions are a chance for patients to vent and express frustrations. They also are challenged by their therapists to try new behaviors like going into stores alone or socializing with people again. These challenges help people overcome emotional and mental challenges and also change their lives.

The skills learned in DBT can help people overcome mental health challenges like DBT. It has four components that allow people to engage in society and also create a life worth living again. People who go through it often have better chances of sustained recovery without needing additional services. This type of therapy is taught in a growing number of facilities around the country.




About the Author: