I completed DBT and have a "life worth living."

In my own opinion, I don't believe DBT is about beating the patient down. It is about pointing out some of our learned thought patterns that are destructive to ourselves and others and learning to change those patterns. I didn't feel as if my therapists were blaming me, only pointing out these thoughts and behaviors so I could become self-aware and become the person I wanted to be.

Yes, it is about emotion regulation, but that is only one segment. There are other parts on interpersonal effectiveness, intrapersonal effectiveness, distress tolerance, and mindfulness.

For me, there is not a simple answer to your question. It is both.

After DBT, I went back to teaching music full-time and was more successful than ever before, include award-winning bands and arranging and taking a tour from the west coast to the east coast with over 50 high school students. I began a successful, long-term relationship. We have been together for over 5 years and are going strong.

That said, I constantly use the skills I learned. Yes, I do emotion management for my troubles. My troubles no longer have the power to derail me like they did. In the past 9 months I have seen my girlfriend have a miscarriage of our first child, an assault, a diagnosis of fibromyalgia for me, a loss of my career and my former lifestyle, and severe money troubles. Through all of that, I have not become more depressed than one would expect and have managed to continue living a "life worth living."

I highly recommend DBT for treatment of BPD. Of course, as with any therapy, the ability of you and your counselor to work together (and believe me, I know that is a 2-way street - I had a terrible first DBT counselor) is crucial.

I hope that helps some. I know it is just my own experience, but I do truly believe in the program.

I did 10 weeks of dbt a few years ago and did not benefit from it.I'm about to start it again in a couple of weeks.maybe this time?

I find the phrase" a life worth living" very patronizing.It implies that our lives were not worth living prior to dbt? seriously?.of course our lives are already worth living.It is a bit in your face and also presuming group..just my 2 cents..:)

Thank you wintersilence - I could not put my finger on what bothered me about that statement, "life worth living." You hit it, though.

I have mostly felt life is worth living. There have been times where I can honestly say I have not felt that way, but generally feel it is worthwhile.

That said, regardless of pain and suffering I have been through, it is the good moments I live for. Sometimes they are fewer and farther between, but they are always there.

One skill I got from DBT is to focus more on the positive and let the negative go as much as possible. Many of my memories of the past focus on negative events and ignore the positive. I find now, with mindfulness of positive events, I am storing more positive memories than negative.

I am not saying that DBT is the answer to everything. I will always struggle, but it did give me a lot more skills to handle life than I had before. With the help of my 2nd DBT therapist I became a stronger, healthier person than I have been since I can remember.

And I know for some people other types of counseling has had similar results. DBT is just more focused on people with BPD is all.

wintersilence - good luck with DBT. I hope it helps you!

Thx bpdistough...:) ..lonelylady do you think you got anything good from dbt? sometimes we have to sort thru alot of stuff we hear..take the good and leave the bad.If theres one skill you learned that you can hold on too and try when things get tough.I hope I get something from it.

I must say DBT changed my life in a positive way.
I entered DBT due to fear of my own reactions to conflicts in life. To be more specific I was afraid my mouth was going to get me in trouble. In the past I was quick not only to anger, but to also lose control of that anger. DBT gave me the skills to address my needs. I also gained several other skills that help me in all areas of my life.
Personally, I must continue to get refresher courses and review learned skills to keep it fresh enough in my head to remember to use them.
I'm okay that for now DBT continues to be ongoing therapy. I'm just happy it has given me hope that I can control-redirect-reconsider my actions before they get me in trouble.

I will add that DBT has excellent research stats (when done right, not sure yours is done right) but it is mostly a practical, manage your life program. It gets good results.

However, many people want a more "depth" exploratory open-ended therapy, so DBT is not for everyone. Group formats are also not for everyone. I would say to start with DBT but if a person wants more after they are more stabilized, they should look for more open-ended. DBT is best first (rather than the other way around) but not a "one-size-fits-all" thing. Right now its very popular and also less expensive because its structured and also often group, but its not the only treatment.

Dude...so not cool. It erased everything I just wrote.

To sum up what I was saying....it's all in attitude. I hate to sound condescending...however, it's true. If you go in thinking it's a magical cure...you're in for a shock. If you go in thinking you'll learn the tools to cope...then it'll most likely be more helpful.

I'm getting ready to for a 2nd try...as I didn't finish the first time I went through it. I had issues with being careful about what I said...and trusting the new people coming into the program. Then again, a lot of what you get out of it...also comes down to whoever is facilitating the course. The facilitators here are great. They do it in 3 sections. So the course is 30 weeks.

I hope you're able to find a way to benefit from this group. Perhaps, just try to go over it in your spare time...and see if you can gain any further depth from the information they give you. *hugs*