Has DBT worked for you ? PLEASE TELL ME

Hello, I'm seriously looking into starting DBT pretty soon, and I wanted to get some feedback from anyone who has completed, or is currently enrolled in a DBT program (either individual or group).

I would love for you guys to answer any of the following questions, if possible. Thanks so much !

- Has DBT noticeably helped your self-esteem or confidence level ? Long term ? Short term ?
- Has DBT helped how you communicate with others and/or establish/maintain friendships/relationships ? If so, how ? Please elaborate.
- Has DBT allowed you to be more at peace WITH YOURSELF ? In other words, has it helped with anxiety ? If so, please elaborate.
- Has DBT made you appreciate or value life more than before ? How ?
- Has DBT reduced or eliminated your suicidal ideation/obsession ?
- Which of the two formats - individual OR group, has worked better for you ? Or have both worked equally well ? Pros and cons of each ?
- What % of the costs of the therapy has your health insurance covered ?

I can't answer i haven't done this. but I would think borderline personality disorders would do this more than a bipolar person.

DBT is thought to help in more disorders than just BPD including BP. I have done some online stuff mainly linked to www.dbtselfhelp.com and also was part of an online group for a while where we discussed DBT stuff. I cant answer your questions properly as have never done this formally (in the UK I am pretty sure DBT is limited to BPD) but I did find it useful what I did do - esp the mindfulness stuff. I found that really helpful. And the concepts in general seemed helpful to me. I esp benefited from using distress tolerance with mindfulness when things were tough - plus the concept of wise mind. I would say the main thing that has stuck with me is mindfulness but there are elements of it all which have helped at times and as a therapy I dont think it would do much harm and there is the possibility it will be really helpful to you. I hope things go well

Hugs

Cracked

CrackedGirl wrote:DBT is thought to help in more disorders than just BPD including BP. I have done some online stuff mainly linked to http://www.dbtselfhelp.com and also was part of an online group for a while where we discussed DBT stuff. I cant answer your questions properly as have never done this formally (in the UK I am pretty sure DBT is limited to BPD) but I did find it useful what I did do - esp the mindfulness stuff. I found that really helpful. And the concepts in general seemed helpful to me. I esp benefited from using distress tolerance with mindfulness when things were tough - plus the concept of wise mind. I would say the main thing that has stuck with me is mindfulness but there are elements of it all which have helped at times and as a therapy I dont think it would do much harm and there is the possibility it will be really helpful to you. I hope things go well

Hugs

Cracked

Great, thanks for the info, CrackedGirl ! I'm glad that you were able to benefit from your program. This is very helpful feedback.

No problem and thank you

Cracked

I am also really interested in any feedback about DBT. I am just about to start a year long group program, but to be honest, I am really concerned about it. In particular, I don't really understand how it is meant to help with bipolar (I do not have borderline personality disorder).

During the assessment meetings I was told about the need to "sit with your distress" in the group (ie. always turn up, not leave the room, not stay in distress in group). If I am in an episode during group (which is likely, since I am ultra rapid cycling this past year and struggling to find appropriate meds), I don't really understand how I am meant to control something that I have no control of. It is extremely rare for my bipolar episodes to be linked with any real life events/environment. It is not a case of mind over matter, and that has me really quite scared to do DBT.

I have heard that it is quite a 'tough love' kind of therapy. I am not against hard therapeutic work and look forward to anything new that I can learn. But I don't want to put myself in a situation that I ethically don't agree with.

I think the way it helped me was to address my psychological reaction to mood changes and how I coped with them. Eg in the past esp when i have been low or occasionally mixed I have had issues with self harm and also made a serious suicide attempt. Learning aspects of distress tolerance and mindfulness helped me with finding ways to challenge suicidality esp and I have not self harmed in years - DBT was not the main reason for this but it did not hurt. When i am high for example one thing is I want to spend and mindfulness can help with taking some time out before putting myself in a difficult situation as a result of overspending - rather than acting on the impulse to spend money that is such a problem in BP. Working on assertiveness I found was helpful as when low I am not good enough at being assertive and when high I am inappropriate in my assertiveness so learning about what is appropriate helped me. There are other examples such as this. I dont know whether a year long course would be overkill but the small bit I have done was really helpful to me in managing BP. However I dont believe it would be available to me anyhow as it is only available in PD to my knowledge where I am.

From what i have heard there is evidence of it working in illnesses other than BPD including BP and I believe mindfulness is also gaining popularity as a therapy in and of itself.

Cracked