I feel such a profound difference between who I was before DBT and who I am now.”
“DBT gave me the strength to move toward the life I wanted.”
“I was finally able to rediscover myself.”
Quiet reflections from individuals whose lives have been changed through DBT treatment.
DBT is a science grounded in reality as it is.
Introduction to Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT)
In the 1990s, when borderline personality disorder was still widely regarded as difficult to treat, Marsha M. Linehan challenged this long-held belief by developing, researching, and clinically applying scientifically grounded behavioral treatment methods.
Borderline personality disorder begins with emotion dysregulation arising from the interaction between biological emotional vulnerability and an invalidating environment during development. Through theory and clinical research, Dr. Linehan demonstrated how difficulties in emotion regulation can lead to interpersonal problems and repeated self-destructive behaviors.
Through Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT), Dr. Linehan made effective treatment possible for borderline personality disorder, a condition once considered nearly impossible to treat.
Over the past three decades, DBT has become one of the few psychotherapies whose scientific foundation, clinical effectiveness, and long-term outcomes have been rigorously validated by leading academic experts and respected public health organizations. Research has shown that DBT can reduce symptoms during treatment and help maintain treatment gains after therapy ends.
When delivered according to standard DBT protocol by professionals who have received rigorous training and education, DBT helps individuals reduce the suffering associated with emotion dysregulation and related symptoms. By learning DBT skills and applying them in everyday life, clients can begin to develop fundamentally new patterns of behavior.
Marsha M. Linehan, the developer of DBT and author of its foundational texts, and Yong Cho, translator of the Korean editions, have remained committed to bringing the original standard DBT model to Korean-speaking clients with clinical fidelity.
Over the past 20 years, Dr. Linehan’s DBT books and the DBT manuals for adolescents have been carefully translated, clinically applied, reviewed, and prepared for publication through the careful clinical application of each DBT skill with Korean-speaking clients.
Since DBT was first applied with Korean immigrant clients in New York in 1998, many individuals who completed DBT treatment have shared the meaningful changes it brought to their lives. The Korean editions of the DBT workbook and professional manuals were developed through long-term clinical applications with Korean-speaking clients.
The DBT manual for adolescents also provides treatment guidance for reducing the emotion regulation and impulse control difficulties often seen in adolescents.
These are clinically grounded treatment manuals shaped by the dedicated work of The Tree Group, the DBT Center of Korea, and the clinical team led by Yong Cho.
United States Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA)
United Kingdom Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews
United Kingdom National Health Service (NHS)
