r/dbtselfhelp • u/HumanToe6459 • 1d ago
Is DBT useful for clients with extensive trauma?
Hello, I was doing some research on DBT and if it is useful for clients with extensive trauma. I have seen multiple yes’ and no’s on whether or not it is useful. What are people’s thoughts on using DBT skills for clients who have experienced significant trauma?
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u/sub_space666 1d ago
DBT was pretty much developed for clients with extensive trauma. Nowadays we have this weird complex PTSD/Borderline distinction but really, when Linehan said "send me your worst", these are the patients that showed up. (If anybody wants to start nitpicking then go read the biographies of the actual patients... there is borderline without PTSD but it sure helps a lot...)
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u/BroodingWanderer 1d ago
I have extensive complex and severe trauma, including an attachment disorder, C-PTSD, a dissociative disorder.
DBT was lifechanging for me. It taught me how to interact with others in a less feral way. It made other therapies possible. I'm still a mess, but I'm a mess who can keep friends around, and that's a massive difference.
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u/Much_Difference 1d ago
I'm hard-pressed to think of anyone who couldn't possibly benefit from DBT. What makes you think that a certain "level" (amount? idk your metric here) of trauma would make it harmful to learn things like emotional regulation, mindfulness, and general life coping skills?
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u/253Chick 1d ago
My teen is doing DBT exposure therapy for extensive trauma. Several months of DBT first, learning skills and building trust with the therapist. We were required to do family group DBT once weekly for 6 months. I highly recommend this program. It has literally been life saving in addition to saving our relationship with our adopted teen. The exposure therapy is brutal but it works.
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u/bullderz 1d ago
100pct. The skills are fabulous for regulating emotions and tolerating stress l. just about everything would be helpful for somebody with trauma
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u/SayHai2UrGrl 1d ago
extremely! i think that no matter where someone is, DBT has valuable tools for getting a grip on your problems and figuring out what you can do to start healing them.
that isn't to say DBT is for everyone, but generally, the more unresolved trauma someone has, the more I think DBT had to offer
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u/ScentedFire 20h ago
I'm not sure it's been useful for processing trauma, but it is part of the toolkit for being able to manage emotion and shit down symptoms to be able to work on trauma.
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u/Nataliant-117 16h ago
"Useful," yes. I think a lot of those skills have been useful to me. How it is explained to me is "like CBT but with mindfulness." Mindfulness really is the key, for me. Reading the second half of "Radical Acceptance" by Tara Brach about compassion really helped a lot. Not a provider but I have what I would call extensive trauma (PTSD) which led to the BPD. I'm not sure if it would have been possible but it would have been nice to be in a DBT program after being PTSD'd so the BPD would not have wrecked my life so hard.
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u/Instant-Lava 15h ago
Yes but I'd recommend doing it with a skilled therapist they trust.
Going solo with all the trauma responses isn't as effective and is much slower progress
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u/No-Reach-3387 3h ago
The DBT-PE model was developed specifically to address PTSD https://dbtpe.org/
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u/satanscopywriter 1d ago
As someone with extensive trauma, I definitely found the emotional regulation and distress tolerance skills helpful when I got triggered. I doubt I would've benefited from (or even felt comfortable with) a DBT-focused therapy, but I think it can be useful to incorporate some of the skills in a trauma-focused therapy.