If you’re feeling stuck, overwhelmed by emotions, or held back by past trauma, DBT (Dialectical Behaviour Therapy)and EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing) are proven therapies that can help. Let’s break down what they are and how they work so you can decide if they’re right for you.

DBT & EMDR:

What You Need to Know

What Is DBT?

DBT is a therapy designed to help you manage your emotions, handle stress, and improve relationships. It’s practical, skills-based, and focuses on helping you live a more balanced and fulfilling life.

What DBT Can Help You With:

  • Managing Strong Emotions: Learn how to stay calm when things feel overwhelming.

  • Handling Stress: Build skills to get through tough situations without feeling out of control.

  • Improving Relationships: Communicate better and set healthy boundaries with others.

  • Staying Present: Use mindfulness to feel more grounded in the moment and less consumed by worry.

If emotions feel like they’re running your life, DBT can give you tools to take back control.

What Skills Would I learn?

With DBT, you’ll learn to use four core skills, sometimes called modules, to help reshape your life. The four skills are the “active ingredients” of DBT.

Mindfulness

Mindfulness is about being aware of and accepting what’s happening in the present moment. This can help you learn to notice and accept your thoughts and feelings without judgement.

Distress Tolerance

Mindfulness can go a long way, but it isn’t always enough, especially in moments of crisis. That’s where distress tolerance comes in.

Distress tolerance skills help you get through rough patches without turning to potentially destructive coping techniques.

Interpersonal Effectiveness

Intense emotions or mood changes can make it hard to relate to others. Knowing how you feel and what you want is an important part of building fulfilling connections.

Interpersonal effectiveness skills can help you be clear about these things. These skills combine listening skills, social skills, and assertiveness training to help you learn how to change situations while remaining true to your values.

Emotion Regulation

Sometimes you may feel like there’s no escape from your emotions. But as difficult as it might sound, it’s possible to manage them with a little help.

Emotion regulation skills help you recognise emotions, increase positive emotions and reduce vulnerability.

What Is EMDR?

EMDR is a therapy that helps you heal from trauma and difficult memories. It works by using a technique called bilateral stimulation, like guided eye movements, to reprocess painful memories so they don’t feel as overwhelming.

What EMDR Can Help You With:

  • Healing Past Wounds: Let go of the pain caused by past events.

  • Quieting Your Mind: Reduce anxious thoughts tied to trauma.

  • Changing Negative Beliefs: Shift from “I’m not good enough” to a healthier, more positive mindset.

  • Finding Peace: Feel lighter and more connected to the present, without being weighed down by the past.

If you’ve been carrying the weight of trauma, EMDR can help you release it and move forward.

Why Combine DBT and EMDR?

DBT and EMDR work well together because they focus on different parts of healing.

  • DBT teaches you how to handle emotions and stress in your day-to-day life.

  • EMDR helps you heal the deeper wounds from your past.

Together, they provide a complete approach to managing your emotions and building a life you love.

Is This Right for You?

These therapies can help if you’re dealing with:

  • Anxiety that feels constant or overwhelming

  • Memories of trauma that still affect you

  • Feeling stuck in unhealthy habits or ways of thinking

  • Struggling with self-worth or relationships

No matter what you’re facing, DBT and EMDR are designed to meet you where you are and help you move forward.