Dialectical behavior therapy holds both of those at once. The dialectic in its name is exactly that tension: full acceptance of where you are, alongside genuine work toward change.
DBT was developed by Marsha Linehan, originally for people experiencing chronic suicidality and what was then diagnosed as borderline personality disorder, populations that standard treatments were failing.
Its central insight is that change-focused therapy alone can feel invalidating to someone in intense distress, while acceptance alone can feel like abandonment. Holding both is the mechanism.
The skills DBT teaches, grouped into mindfulness, distress tolerance, emotion regulation, and interpersonal effectiveness, have since proved useful well beyond the population it was built for. They are particularly valuable for people whose emotions arrive with an intensity that outpaces their tools.
Comprehensive DBT is a specific, intensive program: weekly individual therapy, a weekly skills group, phone coaching between sessions, and a consultation team for the therapists. That full model has the strongest evidence.
What we offer is DBT-informed individual work, drawing on DBT skills inside our broader approach. That is genuinely useful and it is not the same thing. If comprehensive DBT is what you need, we would rather tell you and help you find a program that provides it.
DBT has a strong evidence base. Multiple randomized controlled trials and meta-analyses support it, with the most robust findings for reducing self-harm and suicidal behavior, and for borderline personality disorder, where it is among the best-supported treatments available. There is also growing evidence for eating disorders, substance use, and treatment-resistant depression.
The important qualifier is the one above: most of that evidence tests the comprehensive program rather than skills used within general therapy. Skills-only formats have their own, smaller supporting literature.
Our therapists work with clients located anywhere in Connecticut. Sessions are virtual, with limited in-person availability in Madison, CT. Most clients begin weekly, and you and your therapist will decide together what rhythm supports your capacity. Many of our therapists accept Medicaid/Husky, Aetna, Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield, and Cigna, and coverage varies by therapist.
