Radically Open Dialectical Behavior Therapy Quotes

“The research with people with problems like those you are seeking help with shows that at some point during treatment you may wish to stop treatment, or that sometimes you might feel like not coming to therapy or may even feel like dropping out. This is entirely normal, but I would like to ask you if you could give me a commitment to come back in and discuss with me, in person, your concerns about therapy or your desires to drop out before you actually do so. Can you give me a commitment that you will be willing to do this?”
― Thomas R. Lynch, Radically Open Dialectical Behavior Therapy: Theory and Practice for Treating Disorders of Overcontrol

“According to the RO DBT neuroregulatory model (see chapter 2), when we are excited, elated, or proud of an accomplishment, our sympathetic nervous system (SNS) excitatory approach/reward system is activated, and, because of neuroinhibitory relationships between the parasympathetic nervous system (PNS) and the SNS, the excitatory approach/reward system functions to downregulate or impair the social safety system mediated by the ventral vagal complex of the PNS (the PNS-VVC). Excitatory reward mood states are energizing and associated with feelings of joy, self-confidence, and agency. When we are in positive mood states, we are more likely to be assertive, arrogant, and opinionated. Despite feeling on top of the world, we lose our ability to empathically read the subtle social signals displayed by others and also are less aware of how our behavior may be impacting them.”
― Thomas R. Lynch, Radically Open Dialectical Behavior Therapy: Theory and Practice for Treating Disorders of Overcontrol

“What is important to remember is that superior detail-focused processing does not equate to being effective or even correct. Plus, it impacts not only what is seen but also what is not seen. For example, a detail-focused individual might accurately note the exact number of mixed metaphors or dangling participles in a page of writing but be relatively clueless about what the writer is actually saying.”
― Thomas R. Lynch, Radically Open Dialectical Behavior Therapy: Theory and Practice for Treating Disorders of Overcontrol

“Indeed, OC biotemperamental superiority in detail-focused processing, though primarily nonemotional, may function to exacerbate OC clients’ closed-mindedness. The reason this occurs is that individuals with a superior eye for detail are not only faster than most others at noticing minor changes and patterns in the environment but also more likely to be correct in what they have observed, and thus naturally prone to trust their own personal observations over those made by others.”
― Thomas R. Lynch, Radically Open Dialectical Behavior Therapy: Theory and Practice for Treating Disorders of Overcontrol