CBT vs DBT and your experience

ComfortablyNumb5 · May 07, 2016, 11:56 AM

So I've finally taken the step to get back to therapy. *go me!* The T I've been assigned to left me a voicemail to call her back and that she thinks DBT would be good for me. Ok I've been in CBT and from what I've read, DBT is especially for BPD. Which is fine with me because I have BPD. But what differentiates the two more? Which one do you prefer? What are your experiences with DBT?

Note: I haven't even called her back because in a major procrastinator and I'm nervous. Just like everything else in my life, i set it on the back burner to simmer. I promise first thing Monday! I will call!

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Icare dixit · May 07, 2016, 12:50 PM

Procrastination? That's completely foreign to me.

Especially things that may help me or that I really should do to prevent problems I always do at once.

I am never ever so reckless and self-damaging or -depriving.

It's no surprise I jumped at the chance to try DBT treatment.

I did do some research though. Part of it is rather like Buddhist or Stoic teachings.

But I hope in practice it's a bit more "compassionate" than what is typical in what I see as borderline personality treatment, not seeing us as unruly, attention-seeking, oppositional saboteurs who have a completely dysfunctional personality, something we can just change if only we tried.

A personality serves a purpose even if some/much of it is dysfunctional.

May 07, 2016, 12:58 PM

I liked dbt wayyyyy better. Cbt I felt was just telling me that my thinking was wrong. I fought to find a therapist that did dbt. I'm even redoing with the therapist I have now. I find it very empowering. I hope you go.

May 07, 2016, 01:11 PM

I can't offer any advice, but I'm going to start DBT soon too! I've heard it's great for helping you understand, recognize, and control your emotions, which is exactly what I'm looking for.

I hope it works out for you. CBT hasn't exactly helped me a whole lot... so I can't say I'd personally recommend it. (I agree with Rose that CBT made me feel that my thinking was wrong.)

Btw, Congrats on getting back into therapy!

lilypup · May 07, 2016, 01:12 PM

I just got a CBT therapist to help with anxiety. I sure hope it works. I am desperate. I have no idea about DBT.

Trippin2.0 · May 07, 2016, 01:46 PM

I did some CBT with my former T and it helped with general cognitive distortions.

I'm doing my second round of DBT now with my current T and I must say it's more goal orientated in that the modules are very specific.

While it doesn't give you the power to actually control your emotions (because we're human and can't choose how to feel and when) it does teach you to help regulate your emotions and to create a space between emotion and reaction.

Some of the exercises seem really stupid for some folks, especially in the Distress Tolerance Module , but if you can manage to keep an open mind and your eye on the prize, it can be really helpful.

That's why I'm doing my second round, its helpful and the more practice I get the better.

wildflowerchild25 · May 07, 2016, 01:56 PM

I've done dbt ad nauseum for three years now. It takes a lot of practice but it really is useful. I'm tired of hearing about it because I've been through it so many times but even for bipolar it's helpful. I've found it won't help if I'm completely out of touch with reality, which is why my first round failed so spectacularly, but for every day emotion management it's good. I've done some cbt too and I like dbt better. Just keep an open mind when you go in. Some of the stuff seems kind of new agey but it's helpful.

May 07, 2016, 01:58 PM

Yeah, I can see how cbt can come off that way. I did it quite a few years ago, though I had no idea at the time. (It was my "homework" from required therapy sessions.) It can be helpful in getting you to recognize the "tapes" of those automatic negative thoughts in your head that are unhelpful in trying to get better. Our thinking in depression *is* wrong in the sense that our perceptions get pretty warped. You know how you can have those

thoughts where some small part of your brain is trying to fight the overwhelming thoughts? CBT might be thought of as giving a boost in troop strength to that small part. It also basically teaches you to try to recognize and catch those unhelpful thoughts. It might seem they'd be obvious, but they can be so ingrained and automatic that we don't recognize them(!)

Anyhow, I can't say one way or the other. I've never done DBT.

st0psign · May 07, 2016, 04:14 PM

DBT is great, it gives you some tools to deal with intense emotions, examining the situation at hand then deciding what to do. I've been in a DBT group for about a year and a half now and I really enjoy it. complements the 1 on 1 therapy very well.

ComfortablyNumb5 · May 07, 2016, 04:19 PM

Thank you everyone this is all very helpful! I guess I'm procrastinating on the call back because my last time I was in therapy it didn't go so well. I have PTSD from childhood and I have a meltdown whenever T wants to discuss my past. I know dealing with the emotions is part of the process but let's be honest here... It's not easy! I'll be 29 on Thursday so I think it's about time I start to heal myself from the inside.

Please, anymore responses are helpful!

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BeyondtheRainbow · May 07, 2016, 05:09 PM

I've gone into therapy with a new therapist (in fact it was my current one, 10 years ago) that we weren't talking about my past until I was ready. He was fine with that and over time I became more comfortable and now we've discussed nearly every detail of every traumatic memory I have and it was safe and incredibly helpful. Tell them upfront that you need to take some things at your own pace and if they aren't ok with that you need to find someone else.

May 07, 2016, 05:42 PM

From what i understand, DBT has four components and CBT is one of them. Emotion Regulation is another and Reducing Suicidal and Para-Suicidal Behaviors are others. I forget what the fourth is.

I can't tolerate DBT because i have bipolar and all the stimulation from the Group Therapy and Art Therapy makes me hypomanic. I've tried twice and once i quit after three weeks and once i was 'referred back into individual therapy' i.e. fired after two weeks. It was very upsetting.

I've worked on CBT just on my own with books. I find it very interesting but ultimately not helpful.

wildflowerchild25 · May 07, 2016, 05:49 PM

Eventually you're going to have to deal with your past by talking about it because it's going to eat away at you until you do. However, it's a very big step to take and you have to be ready for it. You might like dbt better because there's no processing involved with it. It's about handling your emotions, not why you have them. But someday you'll need to deal with the why. But I'm sure you know that.

gina_re · May 07, 2016, 07:52 PM

I've had CBT in the past and found it very helpful. I had DBT when I was in PHP in November and didn't find it that great from what I remember. My last therapist did psychodynamic therapy and it was that "how does that make you feel?" type of therapy. Which can be helpful, but not for now. My current t which I started seeing two months ago is very helpful and does CBT as well. So I'm leaning towards that, but of course, everyone else is different. Good luck!

Icare dixit · May 08, 2016, 07:41 AM

I hope no-one ever asks me "How does that make you feel?". Too complicated or too meaningless and hopefully rather obvious.

I am afraid a therapist is likely to think I intellectualise too much as a defence mechanism. I think it can be a useful mechanism.

I rather know if I feel something, what to do. I want to describe what I feel in some situation, but in general, only.

May 08, 2016, 07:58 AM

I found CBT very helpful. The skills in thinking and problem solving have actually been the skills I've taken out of therapy and use most regularly now that I no longer am in therapy. I've never done DBT. I did look at some materials for DBT and it didn't appeal to me, mainly because it seems to focus on emotional regulation which really isn't my issue so I found the materials and exercises just looked like they'd irritate the heck out of me because they just didn't apply.

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CBT vs DBT and your experience

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