“Building a Life Worth Living: A Memoir by Marsha M. Linehan”: An Introduction to Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT)

“Two things make DBT unique. The first is the dynamic balance between acceptance of oneself and one’s situation in life, on the one hand and embracing change on the other. (That is what “dialectics” means-the balance of opposites and the coming to a synthesis.). Traditional psychotherapy focuses primarily on helping people change their behaviours, replacing negative behaviours with positive behaviours. The balance between pursuing change and pursuing acceptance strategies is a basis of DBT. This emphasis on acceptance as a counterbalance to change flows directly from the integration of Eastern (Zen), as I experienced it, and western psychological practice.”