Dialectical Behavior Therapy

Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) is a cognitive behavioral treatment developed by Marsha Linehan, PhD, ABPP. Dr. Schack is intensively trained in DBT and has utilized it in her practice for over 20 years. DBT emphasizes individual psychotherapy and group skills training classes to help people learn and use new skills to manage emotional ups and downs and strategies to develop a life that is more satisfying. DBT skills include skills for mindfulness, emotion regulation, distress tolerance, and interpersonal effectiveness.

Mindfulness skills focus on increasing awareness of the present moment in a non-judgemental way. Emotion Regulation helps us learn how emotion works, label emotions, prevent emotional ups and downs and riding out intense emotions. Distress tolerance is a group of skills that helps us not act on intense impulses and learn how to accept painful moments. Interpersonal effectiveness skills are geared toward helping learn ways to directly express your feelings, and how to validate others emotions and while balancing your own self-respect.