Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) in Atlanta, GA

You’re overwhelmed. It feels like you’re held hostage on an emotional roller coaster. One moment, you’re up and feeling great. Then, you’re plummeting towards a crisis and feel terrible. When you’re in crisis mode, it is very hard for you to control your emotions. Sometimes, life feels hopeless.

When you’re down, everything in your life seems to suffer. You can’t focus on your work, grades, relationships, or self-care. Other people in your life have even started to take note. Now, you’re noticing more conflict in your important relationships as well. You may have already started pulling away from others and isolating yourself. You try to protect yourself from getting hurt, but this has made you feel so lonely.

Some days it feels like the whole world is working against you. No matter how hard you try, you worry you’ll never get ahead. That feeling makes you resentful and angry.

You’ve tried everything you can think of to feel better, but nothing has worked. Even other types of therapy have failed. Now, you feel helpless, like you may be stuck feeling this way forever.

What is DBT Therapy?

If you're struggling to create positive change, dialectical behavior therapy (DBT) can help. DBT is a unique form of psychotherapy compared to other forms of therapy. It addresses the root cause of the issues you’re experiencing. It also offers a specific set of skills to help you transform your life. DBT therapy can help you better handle distress, improve relationships, and regulate emotions.

When We Recommend DBT

We use DBT principles in many of our counseling sessions. But, we suggest DBT to teens and adults who are experiencing the following situations:

• Severe depression

• Self-injurious behavior or suicidal thinking

• Severe anxiety

• Engage in dangerous or risky behaviors

• Use of illicit substances or abuse alcohol

• Trouble regulating emotions or have “emotional breakdowns”

• Strong reaction to rejection

• Disordered eating or a diagnosed eating disorder

• Poor impulse control

• Academic challenges or trouble maintaining employment

Avalon Psychotherapy’s Approach to DBT

We know that life can be very hard at times and things can feel downright overwhelming. Furthermore, you deserve to get high-quality mental health services. That’s why we offer DBT to individuals located in the Atlanta area and anywhere in the state of Georgia. We have seen the transformative results from DBT and believe that it can help you!

Our main goal is to develop a strong relationship with you. We aim to help you feel comfortable during our counseling sessions. We won't sugarcoat it, DBT requires you to get uncomfortable. Working towards achieving the results you desire is difficult work. But, we will be cheering you on every step of the way and helping you navigate any challenges.

We will take time to get to know you and listen to what’s going on in your life. This includes learning what has or has not worked well for you in the past. Then, we will determine what’s getting in the way of you reaching your goals. This may also include what is keeping you from a happy life, and having healthy relationships. Once we find the cause of your emotional pain, we work to get between the stressors in your life and the behaviors causing the most distress.

This is where we teach you a specific set of DBT skills including:

• Mindfulness: this helps you be aware of where you are at and how you are feeling in the present moment

• Interpersonal effectiveness skills: these skills help you learn to be both assertive and advocate for your needs. They can help you build and sustain healthy relationships with the people in your life.

• Distress tolerance skills: These skills help you navigate the tough emotions that will occur in your life. But, without letting them creating havoc on your mental health.

• Emotional regulation techniques: You will learn skills to help you regulate your emotions and lead a more stable life.

When you combine these parts, you have a solid plan! A DBT therapist can help you feel less stuck or hopeless and more confident and content with your life.

A DBT Therapist can Provide the Support you Deserve!

After working with a DBT therapist, our clients find they can better handle emotions. They feel like they can thrive when they feel stressed or overwhelmed. Clients who complete DBT therapy report feeling seen, engaged, aware, and insightful. They are moving toward greater changes and improvements in their life. They can cope with difficult emotions in more productive, effective, and intentional ways. Furthermore, they feel like they have more in control of their actions and urges. They're also more clear about what they want and how to take steps in that direction. Thus, they are more confident to do hard, uncomfortable things that are helpful for them.

Other Services Offered with Avalon Psychotherapy

DBT therapy is not the only service offered at our Atlanta, GA-based practice. Other services offered include treatment for anxiety, life transitions therapy, teen therapy, and young adult therapy. We also provide individual relationship counseling and online therapy in Georgia. For more information, feel free to learn more about our practice or visit our blog!