DBT and Trauma
United States Department of Homeland Security
Key Points
- Trauma-focused DBT is a modification of standard DBT designed to treat symptoms of trauma and is based on the polyvagal theory.
- The purpose of DBT is to help clients get out of the hell of trauma through skills work.
- The purpose of trauma-focused DBT is to help clients stabilize so they can proceed with deeper trauma work
- Dialectics refers to the process of bringing together opposites, which also implies being able to look at something from multiple perspectives.
- Healing from mental illness often requires a restoration of dialectics.
- People who have been traumatized have a very characteristic set of dialectical dilemmas
- The primary dialectic in DBT is acceptance vs change.
- No magic algorithm determines the correct balance between acceptance and change for any given client or crisis.
- Trauma is invalidating, and invalidation is traumatizing. Therefore, validation is essential to all trauma work
Materials Downloads
DBT for Trauma Online Training
Learn how to support clients struggling with trauma and complex trauma without reliance on traditional exposure methods.
Earn 9.25 CE Credits$297
Transcript
Greetings, and welcome to Module 8. So This is the final module in this course on trauma-focused DBT. In this module, we’ll be reviewing some of the key points we have learned throughout this course. So let’s get started.
Okay. So, If you recall, from way back when, DBT or dialectical behavior therapy was originally designed by Dr. Marsha Linehan to treat symptoms of borderline personality disorder, and was based on the biosocial model. Trauma-focused DBT or TF-DBT is a modification of standard DBT, was designed to treat symptoms of trauma, and is based on the polyvagal theory. Since trauma is, by definition, an extreme situation, ongoing trauma tends to force us into extreme responses, either too much or too little.
Reutter, K. (2019). The dialectical behavior therapy skills workbook for PTSD: Practical exercises for overcoming trauma and post-traumatic stress disorder. New Harbinger Publications.
So, if you recall, that’s what the whole polyvagal theory is all about, right? How trauma affects the nervous system, in particular the sympathetic and the parasympathetic nervous systems, resulting in responses that are either too much or too little. So That’s why the concept of dialectics is all about restoring balance and finding the middle path between the extremes. So that's why DBT teaches five main skill sets: mindfulness, distress tolerance, emotion regulation, dialectical thinking, and interpersonal effectiveness. Each of these skills teaches clients a specific middle path between the extremes created by ongoing trauma.
Reutter, K. (2019). The dialectical behavior therapy skills workbook for PTSD: Practical exercises for overcoming trauma and post-traumatic stress disorder. New Harbinger Publications.