Women's Dialectical Behavior Therapy

The Women’s Partial Hospital Program at Butler Hospital is designed to help individuals struggling with emotion regulation. They may feel overwhelmed by intense emotions (e.g., sadness, fear, anger, or guilt/shame) or disconnected from their feelings at other times. These experiences can cause great difficulty when navigating life’s challenges, and some people try coping in ways that make their lives worse in the long run (e.g., using substances, lashing out at others, overeating, or self-injuring). Our program aims to help individuals manage their emotions and live their lives more effectively.

In the program, you will receive treatment informed by Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) in a structured and compassionate environment. Skills training groups will teach selected skills from DBT and individual therapy sessions will help you apply the skills learned to daily life. DBT skills training covers four areas of mindfulness, distress tolerance, emotion regulation, and interpersonal effectiveness. DBT skills can help people identify and manage emotions, participate fully in the present moment, tolerate difficult situations, and improve interactions with family, friends, and coworkers. Research has shown DBT skills can effectively help with a variety of problems, including suicidal thoughts and behaviors, non-suicidal self-injury, substance misuse, disordered eating, PTSD, chronic depression, and anxiety.