A number of health professionals are conducting DBT therapy, a form of therapy designed to help a person overcome problematic habits and behaviors that contribute to high blood pressure. The use of these DBT Worksheets is becoming more widespread in the form of online and printed materials as well as in many public places, such as libraries, fitness clubs, nursing homes, spas, and so on.
The author and the user of the DBT Worksheet create the Basic thoughts through a self-assessment, which is a re-experiencing technique. The first step in DBT is to form a list of undesirable thoughts or behaviors. Then the person is asked to figure out if their behavior meets criteria that their client has in mind for his or her thinking. By this process, the client discovers how to stop the negative thoughts, and then he or she can begin to examine their beliefs.
The next step involves identifying negative and positive associations. For example, some people have negative associations with bedwetting, while others have positive associations with a good night’s sleep. The next step is to identify what the person thinks about that thing, and this step is critical to breaking the association between the negative association and the thought.
When a person has negative associations, he or she must confront the ones that he or she has with him or her. In order to take control of the situation, they must change the beliefs, not only what they think but also how they feel about it. For example, a parent who believes that bedwetting is a “bad” thing is going to keep on believing that way until that child stops the practice.
The second step in DBT is teaching a person to identify the associations that he or she has with each negative or good thing. After identifying the bad associations, the person must find ways to change the bad ones, or, ifthere are no bad ones, the person must see them as exceptions. This way, the person will be able to keep away from the bad things or to experience the good things in different ways.
After each step, the client finds ways to stop the bad associations, and they make plans to cope with the good ones in other ways. For example, the client might try to change bedwetting habits by using a wet blanket, which would allow the child to continue to use the bathroom without wetting the bed. Sometimes the child has to use a special tool to help wet the bed.
Through DBT therapy, a person learns how to avoid negative associations, which in turn allows him or her to deal with those that affect him or her positively. After all, some people are afraid of flying, yet they want to fly because of the relaxing time they get when they are flying.
Some people have found DBT therapy to be a great way to treat their children, such as alcoholics, drug addicts, and smoking addicts. The client must do all the steps outlined in DBT to make sure that they are complying with the program. Only after all the steps are completed can the person begin to see improvements.
