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Dialectical Behavior Therapy Skills
Dialectical Strategies
Presented by: Dr. Dawn-Elise Snipes

CEUs are available for this series at https://allceus.com/member/cart/index/product/id/665/c/

Objectives
~    Define Dialectical Theory
~    Review Dialectical Strategies to help clients identify
~    Truth
~    Reality

Walking the Middle Path-Dialectics
~    The universe is filled with opposing sides/forces
Ex. Losses, Changes, Recovery
~    Good/Bad
~    Happy/Sad
~    Right/Wrong (Hans Dilemma)
~    There is always more than one way to see a situation and more than one way to solve a problem
~    Two things that seem opposite can be true

Walking the Middle Path-Dialectics
~    What we do influences our environment and the people in it and they influence us
~    Everything is interconnected in some way (butterfly)
~    Recovery
~    Your mood
~    Changing jobs
~    Meaning and truth evolve over time
~    What is something that was meaningful to you as a child that is not as meaningful now?
~    What is something that is true now that wasn’t true 6 months ago?
~    Each moment is a new reality (beginners mind)
Dialectics Checklist
~    Asked the wise mind “what am I missing”
~    Looked for a kernel of truth in the other person’s side
~    Avoided extremes such as always and never
~    Validated both myself and the other person
~    Accepted reality and tried to change it
~    Made lemonade from lemons
~    Embraced confusion
~    Played devil’s advocate
~    Used a metaphor to describe my own point of view
Dialectics Checklist
~    Treated others as I want to be treated
~    Looked for similarities between us
~    Noticed the connections between all things
~    Practiced radical acceptance
~    Embraced change
~    Practiced letting go of blame
~    Remembered that change is transactional
~    Reminded myself that all things, including behaviors, are caused

Keeping Your Balance
~    Use your wise mind to ask “What am I missing?”
~    Let go of extremes change either/or to both/and
~    Balance opposites by validating both sides
~    Make lemonade.  Find the silver lining
~    Treat others as you want to be treated
~    Look for similarities, not differences
~    Practice radical acceptance
~    Practice accepting change
Keeping Your Balance
~    Pay attention to your impact on others and how they impact you
~    Let go of blame
~    Remember that all behaviors are caused

Important Things to Balance
~    Accepting and Changing Reality
~    Validating Yourself and Acknowledging Errors
~    Working and Resting
~    Needs and Wants
~    Self Improvement and Self-Acceptance
~    Emotion Regulation and Emotion Acceptance
~    Independence and Dependence
~    Openness and Privacy
~    Trust and Suspicion
~    Focusing on Self and Focusing on Others
Summary
~    Dialectics is based on the premises that
~    Truth can be found by integrating multiple points of view
~    Reality is ever changing
~    By walking the middle path with awareness of the differing forces we can
~    Radically accept reality
~    Minimize emotional turmoil