Written by Allison Whitmore, Therapist
DBT is often described as a skills-based therapy—and for good reason. Skills for emotion regulation, distress tolerance, mindfulness, and interpersonal effectiveness are often life-saving. They reduce suffering, prevent crises, and create stability.
But DBT was never meant to be only about skills.
🌱 More Than a Toolbox
At Integrative DBT & Psychotherapy, we view DBT as a living framework grounded in relationship, meaning, and lived experience.
The core dialectic—acceptance and change—extends beyond “Which skill should I use?” to deeper questions:
- What is this emotion communicating?
- How did I learn to survive this way?
- What kind of life do I want to build?
Emotions aren’t problems to eliminate—they are signals and protectors, shaped by history and relationships.
🔄 An Integrative Approach
We blend DBT with psychodynamic, existential-humanistic, and trauma-informed perspectives, moving flexibly between structure and exploration.
Therapy may include:
- Using skills to get through hard moments
- Learning boundaries and emotion regulation
And also:
- Exploring patterns, grief, identity, and values
- Making meaning and deepening self-understanding
Both are essential.
🤍 Regulation + Trust
Regulation matters—but healing also involves learning to trust yourself.
Change happens not only through practice, but through safety, attunement, and connection. Skills can be practiced alone; growth happens in relationship.
⚖️ The Core Dialectic
Two things can be true at once:
- You can accept yourself and want change.
- Your coping makes sense and no longer serves you.
- You can need skills today and long for deeper meaning.
That balance—between skills and soul, survival and growth—is the heart of our work.