Summary (Part 10 of 10)
Ongoing trauma results in overstimulation of both the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems (accelerator and brake), resulting in a variety of responses that are either “too much” or “too little.” The five skill sets taught in DBT help restore the balance between these extremes by providing a middle path, which includes reactivation of the social engagement system. That’s why when I am explaining DBT to my clients, I usually dispense with clinical jargon and simply refer to this model as “developing balance therapy.” In this article, I have briefly introduced five skills (among legion) as examples of these middle paths: RAIN dance as a form of mindfulness; TIP the balance as a form of distress tolerance; sow your SEEDS as a form of emotion regulation; work the TOM as a form of dialectical thinking; and DEAR Adult as a form of interpersonal effectiveness.
To be clear, DBT was not designed to resolve the original trauma. Myriad models have been developed for trauma processing. Some models focus more on verbal processing and are generally referred to as “top-down models.” Other models focus more on somatic processing and are generally referred to as “bottom-up models.” Some clients prefer verbal forms of processing, some clients prefer somatic forms of processing, and most clients can benefit from both, so it is not necessary (in my opinion) to engage in endless debate or pointless turf wars on this point. My recommendation is simple: Be trained in at least one form of trauma processing that is mostly top-down and at least one form of trauma processing that is mostly bottom-up — and become proficient in both. (Another dialectical dilemma resolved.)
However, no form of trauma processing can be completely effective when the individual is actively in crisis, experiencing ongoing danger or constantly dysregulated. That’s where DBT comes in. DBT (which I like to call “developing balance therapy”) provides the necessary skill set to help individuals sufficiently stabilize or self-regulate in order to then proceed with deeper trauma work.
This blog post is an excerpt from Trauma stabilization through polyvagal theory and DBT, an article published by the American Counseling Association on September 14, 2021 by Kirby Reutter.
If you would like to learn more about how to use trauma-focused DBT with a variety of trauma-based disorders, I recommend the following resources to get started:
- The Dialectical Behavior Therapy Skills Workbook for PTSD: Practical Exercises for Overcoming Trauma and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder by Kirby Reutter, 2019
- “DBT for Trauma and PTSD” (DBT Expert Interview series at psychotherapyacademy.org/dbt-interviews)
- Survival Packet: Treatment Guide for Individual, Group, and Family Counseling by Kirby Reutter, 2019
- “The Journey From Mars: Brain Development and Trauma” webinar (youtube.com/watch?v=WSFqHS_axOc)
