A Dialectical Way of Life with DBT

Can you imagine a life in which you feel passionate about ideas AND less polarized in your views? A life in which you care more about being understood than being right? What about a life that enables you to reduce conflict and pitting yourself  “against” others, which leads to loneliness. Can you envision moving on from a painful past with compassion AND without excusing the behavior of others?

Christina Unruh, LCSW has devoted her personal and professional life to a dialectical worldview, a process that she describes as “liberating.” Dialectics teaches that life can be difficult and easy, both at the same time. When we hold space for diverse and conflicting perspectives on our circumstances, new possibilities for happiness and contentment emerge. Christina is dedicated to helping people increase their resiliency with their thoughts and beliefs. She promotes accepting conflicting truths, managing the tension that this inevitably produces, and approaching rather than avoiding extremely difficult situations. Her therapy is based on extensive DBT training and behavioral analysis, as well as her own personal use of her DBT skills every day.

Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) was developed by Marsha Linehan, PhD, a researcher and educator from the University of Washington,  for individuals with persistent problems with thoughts and emotions. DBT-informed Therapy can help anyone improve their responses to the behaviors around them, including their own. DBT  teaches skills that can be used in every area of life.  Full model DBT is also available for people who consider themselves to be highly emotional, sensitive, and reactive. Full model DBT can be especially helpful if you have:

• Intense reactions to thoughts, emotions, and behaviors that don’t seem warranted
• Significant difficulty returning to a normal mood after experiencing strong emotions
• Chronic problems with depression, anxiety, shame, and anger
• Thoughts of suicide or past attempts
• Self-injury including overuse of substances
• Difficulty with maintaining relationships, including repairing ruptures
• Impulsive behaviors such as promiscuity or gambling
• Chronic attempts to avoid emotions including shutting down or dissociating
• Difficulty with problem-solving and making decisions when emotions are involved
• Avoiding emotions until you explode

Years of solid research has shown DBT to be the most effective therapy for individuals who struggle with being overwhelmed by strong emotions. The inability to manage or regulate emotions shows up in a variety of behaviors:

• A tendency to be disappointed in others or feeling misunderstood by others
• Denying emotions or the importance of having them
• Refusing to feel sadness, grief, guilt, shame by just being angry
• Getting others to care for your emotional state because you feel overwhelmed
• Acting like you are doing much better than you really are

If you have questions about whether DBT is right for you, please  contact Christina Unruh, MSW, LCSW for a phone consultation. Check out this wonderful explanation of DBT by educators from the University of San Francisco, presented on YouTube: