Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT)
Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT)
For when emotion feels either shut off entirely or completely overwhelming.
There can be a difficult space between feeling too much and feeling almost nothing at all.
You might experience emotions intensely and struggle to bring them back down. Or you may find yourself disconnecting, shutting down, or feeling numb when things become too much.
Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT) can help you develop skills for navigating intense emotions while building a greater sense of stability and self-understanding.
What is DBT?
DBT is a skills-based approach that combines acceptance with meaningful change.
It recognizes that your emotional responses make sense in the context of your experiences, while also exploring what you can do differently when those emotions become difficult to manage.
DBT may be helpful if you experience
Intense or rapidly changing emotions
Emotional overwhelm
Numbness or emotional shutdown
Difficulty managing anger
Impulsive reactions
Relationship conflict
Difficulty setting boundaries
Feeling overwhelmed by distress
Patterns that are difficult to break despite knowing they aren't helping
What ACT therapy can help you work toward
Mindfulness
Learning to notice what is happening in the present moment without immediately reacting to it.
Emotion regulation
Understanding emotions and developing strategies for responding to them more effectively.
Distress tolerance
Building ways to get through difficult moments without making the situation harder.
Interpersonal effectiveness
Learning how to communicate your needs, set boundaries, and navigate relationships while maintaining self-respect.
A Note on Our Approach
Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) is a skills-based form of therapy that grew out of CBT and was originally developed to help people with intense, hard-to-manage emotions. Its core idea is "dialectics," the balance between acceptance and change: you learn to accept yourself and your experiences as they are while also working toward meaningful change in your life. Treatment centers on four skill areas: mindfulness, which helps you stay present and observe without judgment; distress tolerance, which helps you get through crises without making things worse; emotion regulation, which helps you understand and manage intense feelings; and interpersonal effectiveness, which helps you communicate needs and set boundaries while keeping relationships healthy. DBT is validating and practical, and it's used for emotional dysregulation, self-harm, borderline personality disorder, depression, anxiety, and eating disorders.
Therapy that meets you where you are
Standard DBT usually combines several parts: weekly individual therapy, a weekly skills group, and sometimes phone or text coaching between sessions for in-the-moment support. Individual sessions typically last 45 to 60 minutes and begin with a review of your diary card, a simple daily log of emotions, urges, and the skills you used.
Your therapist then focuses on the most pressing issue, such as safety concerns or behaviours that get in the way of therapy, before working through specific situations and how to handle them differently. Skills groups run about 1.5 to 2 hours and feel more like a class, with lessons, worksheets, role-plays, and homework practice. Many people find the structure and warmth of DBT helps them feel understood while building concrete tools they can use right away.
Match with our therapists specializing
in DBT therapy
Karina Waluk
(she/her)
SENIOR THERAPIST
CLINICAL DIRECTORFAQs
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Neurofeedback is a non-invasive way to support your brain in learning new patterns. Using real-time brain wave feedback (via sensors on your scalp), your brain gets gentle nudges toward more calm, focus, and regulation — no shocks, just your brain doing what it already knows how to do, with a little support.
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If you’re dealing with anxiety, ADHD, burnout, chronic pain, trauma, chronic stress, or just feel stuck in patterns that talk therapy hasn’t fully shifted — neurofeedback might be a good fit. We can talk through it together and decide if it makes sense as part of your care.
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It varies, but most people notice shifts within a few sessions. The minimum number of neurofeedback sessions needed can vary, but a common guideline is to expect to commit to 20 sessions for lasting effects. Like any kind of brain training or therapy, change is gradual and builds over time. We’ll track what’s changing together so you’re not guessing.
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Yes, we have a limited number of sliding scale spots available — please feel free to reach out and inquire. We can also help you navigate free programs that may exist in your community, as additional support to our individual work if that’s appropriate or wanted.
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You’ll sit in a comfy chair with small sensors on your scalp while watching a movie or listening to music. When your brain activity moves in the right direction, the screen or sound responds. It’s gentle, relaxing, and surprisingly low-key.
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Not at all. Most clients do both — either in the same session or alongside regular therapy. We’ll figure out what works best for your goals and how you like to engage.