DBT is an intricate therapeutic treatment that incorporates four modes, four modules, and four treatment stages. The four modes include individual therapy, group skills training, 24-hour phone support, and consultation team meetings and the four modules are distress tolerance, emotional regulation, interpersonal effectiveness, and mindfulness. The primary focus of the DBT modality is to teach clients more constructive coping skills when dealing with their emotional distress (Field, 2016). Within the DBT model, emotions are presented to clients as being compromised in six different systems: emotion vulnerability factors, internal or external evens that serve as emotional cues, interpretations of cues, emotional response tendencies that include physiological responses, cognitive processing, experiential responses, and action urges, nonverbal and verbal actions and responses, and the effects after the initial emotion. Those who are diagnosed with BPD have difficulty monitoring each of the six systems outlined in the DBT …show more content…
There are three components of the alliance that are important to DBT treatment. These include, an agreement on goals, commitment to therapy, and therapist’s being nonjudgmental toward the client. An agreement to collaboratively work on suicidal ideation between the client and therapist is a required aspect of DBT, however goals following that are more flexible and develop as treatment continues. What sets DBT apart from other therapeutic interventions is its use of hierarchy when targeting specific areas beginning with life threatening behavior, followed by therapy – interfering behavior, and ending with quality of life interfering behavior. DBT therapists employ a variety of motivational strategies to motivate their clients toward individual and treatment goals by being proactive rather than reactive against obstacles that may affect treatment goals. DBT therapists are trained to understand client behavior from strictly a behavioral view and to search for the reasons behind the client behavior, while providing validation and remaining nonjudgmental (Bedics, Atkins, Harned, & Linehan,