DBT Principles in Action Acceptance, Change, and Dialectics

The key to flexible, skillful decision making in dialectical behavior therapy (DBT) lies in understanding the connections between moment-to-moment clinical strategies and core principles. This lucid guide from leading DBT authority Charles R. Swenson offers clinicians a compass for navigating challenging clinical situations and moving therapy forward--even when change seems impossible. Numerous vivid case examples illustrate DBT in action and show how to use skills and strategies that flow directly from the fundamental paradigms of acceptance, change, and dialectics. Clinicians gain knowledge and confidence for meeting the complex needs of each client while implementing DBT with fidelity.

Charles R. Swenson, MD, is Associate Clinical Professor of Psychiatry at the University of Massachusetts Medical School and maintains a private practice in psychiatry and psychotherapy with adults, families, and adolescents in Northampton, Massachusetts. He has been involved in the practice, supervision, training, and implementation of dialectical behavior therapy (DBT) in a wide range of mental health systems in Canada, the United States, and Europe for the past 25 years. He was the first professional authorized by Marsha M. Linehan to deliver intensive DBT training, is cofounder of the International Society for the Improvement and Teaching of DBT (ISITDBT), and has published numerous articles and book chapters on DBT. Dr. Swenson is a recipient of the Cindy J. Sanderson Outstanding Educator Award from ISITDBT and is a Distinguished Life Fellow of the American Psychiatric Association.

1. Getting Started in Therapy: Pretreatment and the Life Worth Living Conversation
2. Introducing DBT's Three Paradigms
3. The Acceptance Paradigm
4. The Change Paradigm
5. The Dialectical Paradigm
6. The DBT Tree: The Structural Anatomy of DBT
7. Goals, Stages, Targets, and Target Priorities
8. Dialectical Dilemmas and Secondary Targets
9. Case Conceptualization in DBT
10. Commitment and Commitment Strategies
11. Behavioral Chain Analysis
12. Validation
13. Dialectical Strategies
14. Skills and Skills Training
15. Prevention and Treatment of Therapist Burnout
Afterword