Dialectical behavior therapy, often called DBT, teaches practical skills for handling intense emotions, stressful situations, relationships, and impulsive reactions. At Atlanta Recovery Place, we can use DBT-informed skills within treatment when they fit the client’s needs. We describe DBT as a therapeutic approach used as part of care rather than calling our services a formal comprehensive DBT program without specific clinical confirmation.
DBT is a behavioral therapy that combines change-focused work with acceptance-based skills. In practice, we can help a client acknowledge what is happening in the present moment while still working toward different choices, healthier behavior, and more effective coping.
DBT is especially practical because its skills are meant to be learned, practiced, and used outside therapy. In addiction treatment, that gives us concrete tools for moments involving cravings, conflict, shame, anxiety, anger, or other situations where a fast reaction could increase risk.
Substance use can become tied to immediate relief. A person may drink or use drugs to escape anxiety, numb painful memories, reduce anger, feel less alone, or quiet an intense emotional state. We can use DBT skills to create more options between the emotion and the behavior.
We are not trying to make difficult feelings disappear. We help clients build enough awareness, tolerance, and skill to respond differently when those feelings appear.
We can use DBT-informed skills when addiction occurs alongside emotional or mental health concerns and the skills match the client’s needs. Our site already addresses anxiety, depression, trauma, PTSD, bipolar disorder, and borderline personality disorder. We do not assume DBT is automatically appropriate for every diagnosis or every person.
When we use DBT-informed work, we connect it to the rest of the treatment plan. Skills are most useful when they support the client’s specific relapse risks, relationships, emotional patterns, and recovery goals.
DBT and CBT share behavioral roots, but we use them for somewhat different emphases. A client may benefit from elements of both when clinically appropriate.
We emphasize acceptance and change together, with strong attention to mindfulness, distress tolerance, emotion regulation, and interpersonal effectiveness.
We often emphasize the connection between thoughts, emotions, and behaviors and work on changing unhelpful patterns.
How can I get through this intense moment without making it worse? How can I respond effectively in this relationship?
What am I telling myself right now? How is that thought affecting my emotion and behavior?
We can teach and practice DBT-informed skills in individual or group treatment when they fit the plan.
We can use CBT strategies to identify, test, and change patterns that contribute to substance use or recovery barriers.
We do not treat DBT as a competitor to CBT.
We can combine approaches when the client benefits from both skill sets.
DBT skills are introduced and used in different treatment settings. Individual counseling gives us a place to connect a skill to personal triggers, relationships, or relapse patterns. Group therapy can give clients structured opportunities to learn, discuss, and practice skills with feedback from others.
We want skill practice to reach daily life. A client may learn a distress-tolerance strategy in treatment, use it during a conflict at home, then return to the next session to review what happened and refine the response. That cycle of learning, trying, reviewing, and practicing is more useful than memorizing the names of the skills.
We use mindfulness skills to help clients notice thoughts, emotions, urges, and physical sensations without reacting automatically. In recovery, that pause can make it easier to recognize a craving or emotional escalation before it turns into an impulsive decision.
We use distress-tolerance skills to help clients get through difficult moments without making the situation worse. This can be especially important when the problem cannot be solved immediately, but the client still needs a safer response than returning to substance use.
Emotion regulation works to help clients understand what they are feeling, notice patterns that intensify emotions, and practice strategies that make those responses easier to manage over time.
We use interpersonal-effectiveness skills to support clearer communication, stronger boundaries, asking for help, and handling conflict. Recovery often depends on relationships, so we want clients to have options beyond avoidance, aggression, or using substances to cope with interpersonal stress.
We can incorporate DBT-informed skills into PHP, IOP, and outpatient treatment when they fit the clinical plan. The level of care is determined by the amount of structure and support a client needs overall, not by the use of one therapy method.
As clients progress, we can use the same skills to support relapse prevention, emotional stability, communication, and the transition back into daily responsibilities with less treatment structure.
If emotional intensity, impulsive reactions, relationship conflict, or difficulty tolerating distress has been connected to substance use, we can assess how those patterns should be addressed in treatment. Contact our admissions team to discuss the programs we offer and how DBT-informed skills, CBT, individual counseling, group therapy, or other appropriate services may fit into a personalized plan.
Most major health insurance providers with out-of-network benefits will help cover the cost of addiction treatment program. Reach out to see understand your benefits.
We describe DBT as a therapeutic approach and skill set we can use within addiction treatment. We do not present our services as a formal comprehensive DBT program without specific clinical confirmation.
DBT-informed skills may help clients notice urges, tolerate distress, regulate emotions, and create more space before an impulsive decision. We still address cravings as part of the broader treatment and relapse-prevention plan.
No. DBT skills are used in different clinical settings. We decide when DBT-informed work is appropriate based on the individual client rather than a diagnosis name alone.
Yes. We can use elements of both when that combination supports the client’s goals and clinical needs.
Atlanta Recovery Place has caring representatives available 24/7 to help you or your loved one when dealing with substance abuse. Request a 100% confidential callback now to start your journey.
470-504-1703
info@atlantarecoveryplace.com
1742 Mt Vernon Rd #100
Dunwoody, GA 30338, USA
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