false 2743584 86145 421520 0898621836 9780898621839 11 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1174593110m/421520.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/421520.Cognitive_Behavioral_Treatment_of_Borderline_Personality_Disorder 3.94 72 </div>]]> 202733 4.09 162 23 5 0 false Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2004 Thu Jul 05 12:20:25 -0700 2007 Thu Jul 05 12:28:53 -0700 2007 THE book that founded DBT (dialectical behavioral therapy).

dbt was initially created for BPD clients, but happily, it's being spread to different populations.

it is a cognitive treatment, but it's more behaviorally based than on cognition. it's a blend of western and eastern thought, and i think it's the most successful therapy on the market for addictive behaviors (from self-injury to gambling to eating disorders) and even depression and anxiety.

i could go on forever, but basically there are four components: interpersonal effectiveness, emotion regulation, mindfulness, and distress tolerance. each section has a set of skills that are taught, so instead of just saying, yeah, that sucks, the client has something to DO that is not detrimental or self-harming in anyway. the treatment is incredibly validating of emotions, and of the pain that people feel in their lives. it just seeks to try and get rid of the suffering related to the pain, and to improve the lives of its clients.

it's absolutely genius, i cannot emphasize enough how this radically changed my life - it's what made me decide to go into psychology instead of law. it clearly likes its clients, and treats them as intelligent people, instead of just saying, "if you think differently about this . . ."

seriously, it's brilliant, and it's kind of awesome to be around at the birth of a therapy that's eventually going to be one of the cornerstones of treatment. i mean, imagine being in frued's vienna and learning from him - that's how i feel about linehan. which, okay, maybe isn't the best analogy, but. it's just such a smart treatment. ]]>