A Way to Finally Move on From the Problems: DBT-informed Therapy

It happened again. Your day was going fine until it wasn’t. It just seemed like it was one thing after another, everything just poking at you until you couldn’t take it anymore. You snapped. Now everyone is mad at you. You don’t feel any better either. Why does this keep happening? You can’t seem to figure out how to change things.

You’re not alone. Many people struggle to manage emotions, handle distress, and feel good about their relationships. Often times these challenges can be explained by the Biosocial Theory. Here’s what the theory says:

Biological vulnerability to emotions + invalidation = multiple problems

So what does that actually mean? Basically, biological vulnerability means higher sensitivity, higher reactivity, and a slower return to baseline. For example, you might be more sensitive to criticism, more likely to react to it, and have a harder time calming down afterwards. This in itself often makes it hard to manage emotions. Invalidation means being made to feel that what you are doing, thinking, or feeling isn’t accurate or is an overreaction. For example, invalidation can look like you becoming overwhelmed with everything you need to remember to pack before a trip and someone telling you there’s no need to worry and you just need to relax. When we have this biological vulnerability and experience invalidation regularly this can often lead to developing patterns and habits that leave us feeling stuck in a vicious cycle.

So what can we do about this? Counselling informed by Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT) can be very helpful when the Biosocial Theory seems to fit. This type of counselling tends to be very structured and involves tracking behaviour, exploring patterns, and learning new skills to begin to change these problems once and for all. Sometimes DBT can help when previous therapy didn’t feel like enough.

If you think that DBT-informed therapy might be a good fit for you, feel free to reach out and book a free 15-minute consultation.