Contextually-Focused Dialectical Behavior Therapy: A functional approach to DBT

Emotional distress is experienced in many more diverse ways across a much broader spectrum of people than originally described in Dialectical Behavior Therapy. Contextually-focused dialectical behavior therapy (C-DBT), is a modified version of DBT based on a model of emotional dysregulation applicable beyond borderline personality disorder. It assists persons in discriminating between those aspects of their experience amenable to change from those where acceptance is the only viable stance.
Participants in this class will be introduced to the “chronic distress model” (CDM) for understanding psychological distress. It suggests that humans have a fundamental need for recognition, a basic desire to “belong” or “matter.” Psychological distress arises as a result of a lack of recognition via exposure to persistently invalidating/oppressive environments. These types of environments may exist at the familial, community, cultural and global levels. This perspective provides a framework for understanding the three main processes of consciousness-raising, freedom from past control and freedom to exercise agency in response to future aspirations.