Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT) for Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD)

This section describes the knowledge and skills required to carry out Dialectical Behaviour
Therapy with adult clients who have a diagnosis of borderline personality disorder.

Effective delivery of this approach depends on the integration of the following competence
list with the knowledge and skills set out:
a) in the other domains of the competence framework for working with individuals
with personality disorder, and
b) in the CBT Competences Framework. (www.ucl.ac.uk/clinical-
psychology/CORE/CBT)

Knowledge of core theories and concepts

An ability to draw on knowledge that DBT is a mindfulness-based cognitive behavioural
therapy that balances change procedures derived from CBT with acceptance strategies
derived from Zen philosophy
An ability to draw on knowledge of the “dialectical” philosophy at the core of DBT:
that any given situation may give rise to a series of conflicting and opposing ideas or
influences
that the role of the DBT therapist is to help the client seek out the syntheses that
acknowledge the “nugget of truth” within each position
An ability to draw on knowledge that the structure of each DBT session is shaped by a set of
principles , rather than by adherence to a set of treatment protocols
An ability to draw on knowledge that DBT conceptualises Borderline Personality Disorder
(BPD) as arising from a deficit in skills and motivation, and that the components of the
intervention aim to increase more adaptive behaviour.
An ability to draw on knowledge that DBT considers that people with BPD have difficulties
across five inter-connected domains:
emotional dysregulation,
interpersonal dysregulation,
behavioural dysregulation,
cognitive dysregulation
self dysregulation
An ability to draw on knowledge of the biopsychosocial model that underpins DBT (which
assumes that a biological vulnerability in the client transacts with an invalidating
environment, and that through successive transactions the client’s dysfunctional behaviours
emerge as an inevitable consequence of their experiences)
An ability to draw on knowledge of the dialectical dilemmas frequently observed in BPD
(e.g. where a client moves from extremes of emotional expression to a position where they
act as if no emotional expression is permissible)

An ability to draw on knowledge of evidence-based DBT approaches to disorders that frequently co-
exist with personality disorder (e.g. eating disorder, substance abuse)

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Knowledge of the structure and key assumptions of DBT
An ability to draw on knowledge that DBT interventions address behaviours in the following
order of priority:
decreasing any behaviours that are life threatening (specifically suicidal,
parasuicidal, homicidal and imminently life-threatening)
decreasing any behaviours that will interfere with therapy
decreasing those behaviours (as defined by DBT) that will impact negatively on the
client’s quality of life
increasing the client’s skilful behaviour as it relates to their capacity:
to be mindful
to regulate their emotion
to tolerate distress
to be interpersonally effective

An ability to draw on knowledge that DBT makes eight key assumptions about Individuals
with BPD:
clients are doing the best they can
clients want to improve
clients need to do better, try harder and be more motivated to change
clients may not have caused all of their own problems, but they have to solve them
anyway
the lives of suicidal borderline clients are unbearable as they are currently being lived
clients must learn new behaviours in all relevant contexts
clients cannot fail in therapy (whatever the circumstances, the reasons for a lack of
therapeutic success are never attributed to the client)
therapists treating individuals with BPD need support

Knowledge of the use of agreements in DBT

An ability to draw on knowledge that DBT employs explicit agreements between therapist
and client about the content of therapy
An ability to draw on knowledge of the principles underpinning the content and application of
agreements e.g.
a commitment by the client to the structure of the intervention (e.g. attending
regularly, working on reducing suicidal behaviours, attending skills training in addition
to individual therapy)
a commitment by therapists to maintain professional and clinical standards
An ability to draw on knowledge that DBT therapists work within the context of a set of
principles or explicit “consultation agreements”:
highlighting dialectical tensions and seeking the “nugget” of truth in both poles
(dialectical agreement)
helping the client to deal with the world, instead of changing the world to fit the needs
of the client (consultation-to-the-patient agreement)
helping the client to accept that different individuals (and therapists) will have different
ways of behaving and expectations (consistency agreement)
acknowledging that different therapists have different limits at different times
(observing limits agreement)
adopting a non-pejorative and empathic stance towards the client’s behaviour under
all circumstances (phenomenological empathy agreement)
acknowledging that all therapists are fallible

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Knowledge of the principles underpinning the structure of DBT interventions
An ability to draw on knowledge that there are five functions in a DBT program, provided
through five ‘modalities’, and that the clinical effectiveness of DBT is assumed to rest on the
coherent delivery of all these elements as a ‘package’ of interventions
An ability to draw on knowledge of the five functions of a DBT programme:
enhancing the client’s skills
improving the client’s motivation
assuring generalisation to the natural environment
improving therapist’s motivation and adherence to the model
structuring the environment to reinforce more adaptive (skilful) behaviour
An ability to draw on knowledge that the five functions of a DBT programme are commonly
delivered through five therapeutic ‘modalities’ for clients and for therapists:
weekly individual therapy
skills training groups
out of hours contact (e.g. access to out of hours telephone consultation
weekly team consultation for staff
adjunctive groups/ therapy or training that is compatible with DBT (e.g. family groups,
couples therapy, training for non-DBT staff members in behavioural principles)
An ability to draw on knowledge that each client will have one primary therapist who
oversees all components (modes) of treatment

Knowledge of “target hierarchies” within each modality of DBT

An ability to draw on knowledge that each modality has its own set of hierarchies (the order
of priority in which behaviours are addressed)
An ability to draw on knowledge that in individual therapy the target hierarchy is to:
address the risk of life-threatening behaviours in relation to the self or others
(decrease suicidal and parasuicdal, imminently life-threatening and homicidal
behaviours)
decrease therapy-interfering behaviours
decrease quality-of-life-interfering behaviours (as defined by DBT)
increase behavioural skills
An ability to draw on knowledge that in skills training the target hierarchy is to:
stop behaviours likely to destroy therapy
increase skills acquisition, strengthening and generalisation
decreasing therapy interfering behaviours
An ability to draw on knowledge that during telephone calls to the primary therapist the target
hierarchy is to:
decrease suicidal crisis behaviours
increase generalisation of behavioural skills
decrease the sense of conflict, alienation and distance from the therapist
An ability to draw on knowledge that in relation to telephone calls to the skills trainer or other
therapists the target hierarchy is to decrease behaviours likely to destroy therapy

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Knowledge of the stages of treatment in DBT
An ability to draw on knowledge of the stages of DBT and how and where these stages are
commonly delivered:
“Pre-treatment” (first four sessions), which focuses on orientating the client to the
treatment, gaining their commitment, creating a hierarchy of behaviours to be worked on
in therapy and identifying what the client considers is a ‘life worth living’.
Stage 1, which focuses on :
helping clients gain control over suicidal, parasuicidal, homicidal or imminently life-
threatening behaviours
reducing behaviours (of client or therapist) that interfere with the client receiving
therapy
reducing destabilising behaviours (e.g. severe interpersonal dysfunction, high risk
sexual behaviours, or criminal behaviours that may lead to loss of liberty) or
destabilising factors (e.g. other mental health disorders, homelessness, long-term
unemployment) that adversely impact on the client’s quality of life
Stage 2 - helping the client to move from a position of ‘quiet desperation’, (where
behaviours are controlled but there is still a lot of emotional pain) to a position of non-
anguished emotional experiencing, reduced alienation from others, and also focusing on
any residual axis I disorders.
Stage 3 - helping clients increase their self-respect and attain a sense of mastery over
everyday problems, so that they experience ordinary happiness and unhappiness.
Stage 4 - focusing on reducing the sense of incompleteness, so that clients achieve a
sense of freedom, spiritual fulfilment and expanded awareness
An ability to draw on knowledge that the focus of most publically-funded DBT programmes
will be restricted to stages 1 and 2

Knowledge of the goals of skills training in DBT

An ability to draw on knowledge that DBT includes skills training modules that can be
delivered individually or in a group
An ability to draw on knowledge that skills training aims to help clients develop skills to:
decrease interpersonal dysfunction and increase their interpersonal effectiveness
decrease emotion dysregulation and increase their ability to up-regulate or down-
regulate their emotion
reduce their behavioural and cognitive dysregulation and increase their ability to
tolerate distress
decrease their disrupted sense of self and increase their core mindfulness skills
An ability to draw on knowledge that each area of skill is identified and named so that, once
learned, the therapist can orient the client to the skill that might be required in a given
circumstance e.g.:
core mindfulness skills
distress tolerance skills
emotion regulation skills
interpersonal effectiveness skills

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Ability to convey didactic information about the DBT approach
An ability to communicate effectively to the client , carers, and/or staff the DBT model of
emotional dysregulation and problem behaviours
An ability to discuss the relationship between dysfunctional behaviours and a deficit in
problem-solving skills
An ability to teach effectively and keep the attention of clients who are emotionally
dysregulated

Ability to develop and maintain a DBT-congruent relationship with the client

An ability to draw on knowledge that in DBT the therapist aims to ensure that the client feels
connected to them (and to others in their social world), using the relationship to help keep
the client alive at moments of crisis
An ability for the therapist to accept the relationship as it is in the present, accepting and
validating the client as they are currently
An ability to work with the assumption that disruptions in the relationship will occur
An ability to work on “repairing” the relationship , and to convey to the client that this
represents an opportunity for them to learn the skills for making an effective repair
An ability to help the client to generalise behaviours learned in the therapy relationship to
other relationships outside of therapy

Establishing a target hierarchy

An ability to construct a DBT target hierarchy’ and use this to identify specific behavioural
targets for the session
An ability to track target behaviours by asking the client to complete a diary card before each
session, and to use this to review progress
An ability, if the client does not bring the diary card to the session, to consider reasons for
this and to problem solve
An ability to maintain a focus on targets relevant to the current stage of therapy, but also to
revisit earlier stages if problems relevant to these stages recur
An ability to monitor the client's progress in other modes of therapy

Ability to maintain a dialectical focus

An ability to conduct a dialectical assessment by taking into account both individual and
contextual factors, taking a holistic position and including all available information
An ability to model a dialectical stance throughout the intervention to help the client
synthesize based on available information
An ability to use a range of strategies to help the client adopt a dialectical perspective and
develop the skills to synthesise the dialectic e.g.:
identifying when a metaphor would be helpful, constructing a relevant metaphor and
helping the client consider how the metaphor applies
identifying and/or adopting a paradoxical position in order to highlight or increase
dialectical tensions
“extending” the client’s position in order to increase dialectical tension or introduce a
dialectical position
taking the “devil’s advocate” position
An ability to maintain a dialectical balance between treatment strategies (e.g. between
acceptance and change, stability and flexibility)

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An ability to model that taking a dialectical approach is characterised by being able to go to
either end of a dilemma and still be open to the truth in the opposing side (rather than taking
up a middle position)
An ability to facilitate change by keeping the client slightly “off balance” by adapting and
changing the approach in accordance with the principles of the treatment
An ability to model dialectical thinking and behaviours by looking for the ‘both/and’ position
rather than the “either/or”
An ability to help the client to find 'wise mind' by consulting both logic and emotion mind
An ability to work with the client to 'make lemonade out of lemons' (identifying the adjustment
that can be made to render an unpleasant situation more palatable or to gain some benefit
from it, by looking the situation in different way or taking a different action).
An ability to allow change where it occurs naturally in therapy

Ability to validate the client’s experience

An ability to weave an appropriate level of validation into the session in order to help the
client’s motivation and to facilitate change
An ability to employ a range of strategies to validate the client’s experience and behaviour
e.g.:
verbalising the client’s unspoken emotions (e.g. ‘mind-reading what the client might
be feeling but is finding hard to express)
validating the client’s behaviour in the context of their past learning or their biological
antecedents (e.g. their history of depression)
validating in terms of a normative response in the current context
An ability to provide ‘functional validation’ (e.g. responding by immediately moving towards
finding a solution, and hence (by implication) directly validating the client’s perspective on a
distressing event)
An ability to respond in a radically genuine way to a client’s communication without editing
responses according to a professional role
an ability to ensure that “unedited” responses are employed in a strategic manner

An ability to use a range of strategies to validate the client’s emotional expression,

behaviours and cognitions
An ability to validate emotional expression e.g.:
by empathising with emotional expression
by helping the client observe and label the component parts of an emotional response
by conveying that all emotions a response to something (and do not occur randomly)
by linking the client's emotional responses to their learned experiences (e.g. of
previous relationships)
An ability to validate the client’s behaviour e.g.:
by helping the client observe and describe their own behaviour (both overt as well as
internal behaviours (such as thoughts or urges))
by differentiating behaviour from inferred motives and judgemental labels
by distinguishing between 'understanding how an event occurred' and 'approving of
that event'
by responding to behaviour (even when extreme ) in a non-judgemental fashion.
An ability to validate the client’s cognitions e.g.:
by helping the client observe and describe their own thought processes
by helping the client differentiate the “facts” of an event and their interpretation of it

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 Ability to employ behavioural and cognitive behavioural techniques
in the context of DBT

An ability to help the client develop and apply problem-solving skills

An ability to draw on knowledge of learning theory (the principles that determine how
behaviours can be increased, decreased or maintained by the manipulation of controlling
variables)

Ability to conduct a behavioural analysis

An ability to focus on the central role that affect plays in the development and maintenance
of target behaviours
An ability to draw on knowledge that behavioural analysis plays a central role in DBT

An ability to work with specific problem behaviours and to characterise the behaviour in
terms of its frequency, duration, intensity and patterns over time
An ability to carry out a chain analysis of moment-by-moment events leading up to the target
behaviour and its consequences (including any factors that made the client vulnerable to
behaving in this way, key events, thoughts, emotions, images, urges, and actions)
An ability to integrate information from previous analyses to guide the current one and to
identify key links in the chain that occur repeatedly
An ability to identify and share with clients patterns over time in the client’s behaviour and
emotional responses, and to work with them to generate hypotheses about the factors that
determine their behaviour
An ability to identify the function or functions of target behaviours
An ability to conduct a brief chain analyses of relevant in-session behaviours

An ability to interpret behaviour in terms of current eliciting and maintaining variables,

describing the factors may have reinforced the current behaviour using behavioural
principles drawn from learning theory.

Ability to conduct a solution analysis

An ability to identify problematic links in the chain of events leading to and following the
target behaviour
An ability to analyse problematic links in order:
to establish if these links reflect a capability deficit or a motivational deficit (i.e. where
emotions, cognitions or environmental contingencies interfere with the deployment of
more skilful behaviour)
to identify appropriate solutions that address problematic links, drawing on DBT
change procedures (skills training, exposure, contingency management, cognitive
modification)
An ability to evaluate potential solutions, incorporating client feedback about their
preferences and sense of workability
An ability to implement solutions (e.g rehearsing and troubleshooting solutions and gaining a
commitment from the client to implement these)

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Ability to utilise contingency management procedures
An ability to apply contingency management principles to help clients to decrease
maladaptive behaviour by:
identifying the reinforcing and maintaining factors
extinguishing the behaviour by removing the reinforcers
holding to the extinction schedule even when there is an extinction burst
adding an aversive consequence if needed
identifying an alternative behaviour to reinforce
finding alternative functional behaviours to reinforce
using the contingencies of the therapeutic relationship to shape behaviour change (e.g.
being explicitly affirmative when the client engages in more skilful behaviour)
An ability to identify and or arrange a variety of different consequences
An ability (wherever possible) to use natural, rather than arbitrary, consequences
An ability to adjust reinforcing contingencies according to the current capabilities of the client
(shaping)
An ability to push the client where necessary and reinforce behaviour near to the limit of her
capability

Ability to conduct exposure procedures

An ability to explain the rationale and practise of exposure to the client
An ability to work with the client to implement exposure e.g.:
matching the exposure practice to the problem situation and graduating exposure
intensity
identifying any use of safety behaviours
distinguishing between 'masking emotions' (hiding emotions form other people) and
'changing emotional expression' (e.g. smiling when feel sad)
ensuring that the duration of exposure is sufficient for emotion to be elicited and some
reduction to take place, but not so long that the client loses control
blocking unhelpful reactions associated with problematic emotions (e.g. blocking a
client’s tendency to escape when afraid, or to hide when feeling shame).

Ability to conduct cognitive modification procedures

An ability to help the client identify and their thinking style, rules and verbal descriptions, and
to employ cognitive restructuring to help the consider alternatives e.g. by:
identifying and challenge specific dysfunctional rules, labels and styles in a dialectical
manner
helping the client generate more functional thinking styles
helping the client develop “guidelines” on when to trust and when to further evaluate their
own interpretations

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 Ability to conduct Skills Training

Ability to help the client to acquire skills

An ability to assess the clients’ current level of skills in relation to target behaviours (e.g. by
observing clients’ behaviours, role-playing, or asking clients to demonstrate)
An ability to use a range of approaches to instruct clients in the skills to be learned (e.g.
simple instructions, breaking skills into component parts, etc)
An ability to model the skills to be learned

Ability to help the client strengthen their skills

An ability to use “cheerleading strategies” to motivate the client to participate in the use of
effective skills e.g.
expressing faith in the client, and in the client and therapist working together as a team
redirecting the client's attention from problematic responses to their capabilities

An ability to use a range of strategies to strengthen specific skills e.g.:

in-session behavioural rehearsal through role-play
guiding the client in 'in vivo' practice
reinforcing skilled behaviour
giving behaviourally-specific feedback on the new behaviour

An ability to use a range of strategies to strengthen the client’s commitment to a chosen

course of action, e.g.:
highlighting the pros and cons of the behaviour
connecting the desired behaviour with prior commitments made by the client
working progressively towards the desired behaviour (asking for a small change from
the client and gradually asking for more)
using the principle of “shaping” to reward closer and closer approximations to the
desired behaviour

Ability to generalise skills

An ability to help the client generalise skills from the therapy room to their natural
environment and applied ‘in-vivo’ between sessions e.g.:
setting behavioural assignments, matched to the client's goals and capabilities
helping the client create an environment that reinforces skilled behaviour
using recordings of sessions for the client to listen to between sessions

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Shaping and strengthening commitment
An ability to shape commitment using the principles of DBT by:
evaluating the pros and cons of commitment
employing the ‘foot-in-the-door / door-in-the-face’ strategies of DBT
linking present commitments to past commitments
employing the devil’s advocate technique
highlighting the freedom to choose and the absence of realistic alternatives
generating hope and cheerleading the client’s capacities to change
An ability to identify psychological barriers to commitment to change or to implementing
solutions and to address these using behavioural and solution analyses

Selecting communication styles

An ability, when the client is engaging in desired behaviour and communication between the
therapist and client is going well using, to use “reciprocal communication strategies”, e.g.:
showing that the client's agenda is taken seriously
answering direct questions and responding to the content of the client's
communication honestly and empathically
giving feedback about the effects of the client’s behaviour
An ability, when the client is not engaging in desired behaviour, to make judicious use
‘irreverent communication strategies’ in order to gain the clients attention and place the
therapy on a more adaptive course, e.g.:
'plunging in' to sensitive areas, being direct or using humour
highlighting the absurdity in a situation in order to give the client a completely different
perspective
directly confront dysfunctional behaviour, the aim being to create an impact that will
cause a cessation or shift in the client’s behaviour

Competencies for consulting to the client and for intervening in the client's
environment.
An ability to consult to the client in order to support their capacity to engage with and
negotiate challenges in their environment, on the principle that:
these are situations where learning can occur
refraining from doing for the client what they are able to do for themselves will support
their learning
An ability to consult with the client on how to interact with other professionals
An ability to orient other professionals to the consultation-to-the-client approach and the
rationale behind it. (e.g. that refraining from telling other professionals or family members
how they should handle the client will help the client learn)
An ability to identify situations where the therapists intervention is required and where
consulting to the client’s environment is required, e.g.:
where the client is genuinely unable to act for themselves
where the outcome is very important
where the environment is genuinely intransigent and high in power
where there is a serious risk to life or harm to others.
An ability, when intervening with the client’s environment, on the client’s behalf, to attempt to
work with the spirit of the principle of consulting to the client (e.g. keeping them informed of
the actions being taken)
An ability to advocate on behalf of the client, where this is necessary
An ability to provide information to other professionals where there is a genuine 'need-to-
know'

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Ability to terminate the intervention
An ability to signal and to discuss the eventual termination of therapy from the first session,
and to taper sessions as termination approaches
An ability to focus on embedding behavioural change into the client’s repertoire in order to
maintain therapeutic gains (e.g. by including access to environments that reinforce and
support changes made in therapy)
An ability to reinforce both self-reliance and reliance on others over reliance on the therapist
An ability to actively discuss plans for termination well in advance of the final sessions
An ability to make an onward referral if the patient requires it

Crisis-handling Competencies
An ability to recognise and to respond to a crisis and to respond to these in a manner
congruent with the principles of DBT, e.g.:
focusing on the current emotion rather than the content of the crisis
identifying triggers to the crisis and arriving at a formulation of the current crisis
helping the client to problem-solve and identifying the skills the client is implementing
reducing any high risk factors in the environment and reducing any high risk
behaviours
arriving at a plan of action
assessing the potential for suicide potential throughout and again at the end of the
interaction

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