Feelings may rise quickly and feel hard to calm without support.
Redeemed Mental Health
Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) in Newport Beach, CA
DBT teaches practical skills for intense emotions, crisis moments, relationship stress, and patterns that feel hard to stop.
First, feel understood
When emotions feel bigger than your ability to manage them
If emotions shift quickly, conflict escalates fast, or distress leads to choices you regret, you are not weak. You may need concrete skills that are practiced with support.
DBT is direct, compassionate, and skill-based. It helps clients build a life that feels more stable and more connected.
What it means
What is Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT)?
Dialectical Behavior Therapy is a form of cognitive behavioral treatment that helps people understand and manage emotional intensity. The word dialectical points to balance: accepting what is true right now while working toward change.
DBT is often associated with borderline personality disorder, which the National Institute of Mental Health describes as a condition involving emotion, relationship, and self-image instability. DBT skills can also help with anxiety, depression, trauma, substance use, and other concerns.
- A structured therapy approach that teaches emotion regulation, distress tolerance, mindfulness, and interpersonal effectiveness.
- A skills-based treatment often used for intense emotions, self-harm risk, trauma symptoms, and relationship instability.
- A therapy model that balances acceptance with meaningful change.
- A practical set of tools that can be used in individual therapy, group therapy, IOP, or PHP.
Is this right for me?
Who is DBT a good fit for?
DBT helps with boundaries, requests, repair, and communication under stress.
Distress tolerance skills can help you survive painful moments without making them worse.
DBT can support grounding, emotional safety, and steadier self-respect.
At Redeemed, DBT is not about telling clients to control themselves. It is about giving people skills strong enough for the moments when control feels far away.
Talk with a clinician-owned team before you decide
A short call can help clarify whether PHP, IOP, Virtual IOP, individual therapy, or another level of support is the right starting point.
Clinical depth
The four DBT skill areas
Mindfulness skills help clients stay present without immediately reacting. Distress tolerance skills help people get through painful moments safely.
Emotion regulation skills help clients understand emotional vulnerability, reduce intensity, and choose responses. Interpersonal effectiveness skills support clearer boundaries and healthier relationships.
These skills fit within the broader purpose of psychotherapy: helping people identify and change thoughts, emotions, and behaviors that interfere with life.
The Redeemed approach
The Redeemed approach to DBT
Redeemed may use DBT skills in individual therapy, group therapy, IOP, PHP, or dual diagnosis treatment. The focus is practical: learn the skill, practice it, and adjust it to your life.
Clients are met with respect. We understand that many people who need DBT have already felt judged, labeled, or misunderstood.
Identify the cycle
We clarify what happens before, during, and after emotional escalation.
Teach the skill
Skills are taught clearly, with examples that match real-life stressors.
Practice with support
Clients rehearse skills in session and bring back what worked or did not.
Build a next-step plan
Care is adjusted as stability, insight, and confidence grow.
Questions
DBT FAQs
No. DBT is often used for borderline personality disorder, but its skills can help with emotion regulation, trauma symptoms, anxiety, depression, substance use, and relationship stress.
The four core areas are mindfulness, distress tolerance, emotion regulation, and interpersonal effectiveness.
DBT often includes skills practice in a group format, though treatment can also include individual therapy.
DBT can help clients notice emotional triggers, tolerate cravings, and build safer coping patterns as part of a dual diagnosis plan.
If emotions, relationships, crisis moments, or impulsive patterns feel hard to manage, a clinical conversation can help determine whether DBT fits.