Question

Identify and discuss the differences between mindfulness and traditional CBT skills training.

Answer 1

CBT is one of the most commonly used therapeutic options used worldwide. Contrastingly, DBT is a specific form of CBT, which aims to build upon the foundations of CBT, to further enhance its effectiveness and address specific concerns that CBT may not target. CBT is a ‘gold-standard’ treatment for helping individuals with diagnoses such as depression, anxiety, and substance use. However, clients with more complex difficulties such as self-harm, suicidal ideations, and personality disorders, are likely to benefit more from DBT. Essentially, DBT was developed out of a need to help more complex individuals, when mainstream therapies such as CBT failed. Although CBT examines psychosocial aspects of the client’s current circumstances, DBT places a strong emphasis on the psychosocial aspects of treatment. This includes how a person interacts with others in various environments and/or relationships. The theory behind this, is that some people’s arousal levels in specific situations increase far more rapidly than is considered typical. This can result in a person attaining a much higher level of emotional stimulation than normal, and can therefore take longer to return to normal levels of arousal.

DBT differs from CBT in an important way. While CBT is generally either an individual treatment or group treatment, DBT incorporates weekly psychotherapy sessions with an additional weekly group session. These group sessions are used to help individuals learn skills through four different modules: interpersonal effectiveness, distress tolerance/reality acceptance skills, emotion regulation, and mindfulness skills. A group setting is an ideal place to learn and practice these skills, as it offers a safe and supportive environment for disclosure and learning.