Manhattan Center for Cognitive Behavioral Therapy

Schedule an appointment
  • Home
  • Teletherapy
  • Affiliated Therapists
  • Problems Treated
    • Anxiety
    • Panic Attacks
    • Insomnia
    • Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
    • Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD)
      • POCD: Pedophilic OCD
      • HOCD – “Gay OCD”
      • Harm OCD
      • Hit and Run OCD
      • Existential OCD
    • Depression
    • Social Anxiety
    • Health Anxiety – Get Help in NYC
    • Trichotillomania
    • Dermatillomania (Skin Picking)
  • Resources
    • What is CBT?
    • How to Get Started with CBT
    • What Is Mindfulness?
    • Worksheets
    • Out-of-state Resources
  • Training
    • The MCCBT externship
    • The MCCBT Postdoctoral Fellowship
  • Mental Health Blog
  • Contact us
Home » Mental Health Blog » DBT vs. CBT: How to Know Which Is the Best One for You

DBT vs. CBT: How to Know Which Is the Best One for You

November 23, 2020 by Dr. Paul Greene

There are a lot of options out there to address emotional problems. Two of the most prominent types of therapy — DBT and CBT — have similar names and approaches. How should you choose between DBT vs CBT?

What Are CBT and DBT?

Cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) and dialectical behavioral therapy (DBT) are both forms of psychotherapy. They usually involve meeting once weekly with a therapist with specific training in CBT or DBT. Typically, DBT also involves a weekly group session called a “skills group.” Both CBT and DBT are effective for various mood, anxiety, substance-related, emotional, and behavioral problems.

DBT vs. CBT decision image with doors

What Is CBT?

CBT looks at problems in terms of thoughts, emotions, sensations, and behaviors. To address a problem (e.g., anxiety), a CBT therapist will recommend different strategies with a goal of altering the thought processes, emotional experiences, or behaviors that make up the problem. As a result of making these changes, the problem improves.

For example: let’s say you suffer from insomnia. A CBT therapist might examine what you’re thinking, feeling, and doing throughout the day that can affect sleep. She may recommend that you spend less time in bed, or recommend a change in your self-talk around sleep. Changes like these can improve the quality of sleep and decrease the time spent waiting to fall asleep.

What Is DBT?

DBT is a specialized form of CBT. Essentially, that means DBT is CBT. What’s different about DBT is its focus; DBT focuses on helping you learn how to cope with difficult or intense emotions and with the problems those emotions can create.

DBT was originally developed in the 1980s and ’90s to help people who were chronically suicidal and for people who had a condition called borderline personality disorder. However, DBT has been used more broadly since then as we have discovered how useful it is for other problems.

DBT, unlike other forms of CBT, draws on some of the philosophy and practice of Zen Buddhism. It teaches people mindfulness practices that help us understand and manage our emotions.

DBT can be more effective than traditional CBT at reducing emotion-driven behaviors like cutting (a form of self-harm), emotional eating, and some problems with drugs and alcohol.

How to Choose

The most important factor to consider in choosing DBT vs CBT is the type of problem you have. Some problems that are a better fit for CBT are:

  • Excessive worry
  • Panic attacks
  • Phobias
  • Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
  • Social anxiety or work anxiety
  • Obsessive-compulsive disorder

Some problems that are a better fit for DBT are:

  • A habit of cutting people out of your life and later regretting it
  • Self-harming behavior, like cutting or hitting yourself
  • Unstable or overly intense relationships with others
  • Anger problems or anger management
  • Fears of abandonment
  • Difficulty with chronically intense emotions

Some problems that can be addressed by either CBT or DBT are:

  • Drug or alcohol use problems
  • Depression
  • Procrastination

What CBT and DBT Have in Common

CBT and DBT have many things in common. For example, both therapies:

  • strive to create improvement in your current life as soon as possible
  • sometimes encourage you to face feelings and situations that are uncomfortable, if it’s safe and healthy to do so
  • will ask you to do homework between sessions
  • focus on fixing things in your life that aren’t working for you

Consider a consultation

For some people, the decision about which type of therapy to pursue is not obvious. If the best option for you isn’t clear, consider a one-session consultation with a therapist trained in one or both therapies. He or she will be able to give you an informed opinion and explain their recommendation to you.

How to Find a Good CBT or DBT Therapist

  • Make sure that the therapist you plan to see has extensive training in whichever type of therapy you have chosen.
  • To find a good CBT therapist, consider using the clinical listing at the website for the Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies.
  • To find a good DBT therapist, look for someone who has completed training from BTech (also known as “Behavioral Tech.”)
  • Experienced DBT therapists often work (or have worked) as part of a full DBT program. (Full DBT programs include individual therapy, skills groups, and phone coaching.)
  • There is a clinical directory of DBT programs and therapists available at this site as well.

Feel free to contact us for help finding a therapist to suit your needs — whether you are in the New York City area or not. We are happy to help if we can!

Schedule an appointment

Related posts from manhattanCBT.com:

Filed Under: Cognitive-behavioral therapy, DBT Tagged With: psychotherapy

Manhattan Center for CBT

Stay up to date with the Manhattan Center for CBT!

Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Join 408 other subscribers

Categories

  • Addiction
  • ADHD
  • American mental healthcare
  • Anxiety
  • Articles
  • Cancer
  • Career
  • Cognitive-behavioral therapy
  • Coronavirus
  • DBT
  • Depression
  • Eating disorders
  • Evidence-based treatment
  • Featured
  • Insomnia
  • Kids and teens
  • Mindfulness and meditation
  • OCD
  • Panic attacks
  • PTSD
  • Social Anxiety

Contact Information

Manhattan Center for
Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy
315 Madison Avenue, Suite #806
New York, NY 10017 (map)
1-646-863-4225
https://www.manhattancbt.com

Copyright © 2023 Manhattan Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy/Psychology, PLLC, d.b.a. the Manhattan Center for Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy & Paul B. Greene, Ph.D. except where otherwise noted.

Paul Greene, Ph.D. Follow

Research and health psychologist in New York City, and director of the Manhattan Center for Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy.

anxietyocd
anxietyocd Paul Greene, Ph.D. @anxietyocd ·
26 Sep

Loneliness may be the current biggest mental health epidemic in the US. It's impactful and widespread. It turns out research shows that cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) can help. #mentalhealth #cbtworks

Reply on Twitter 1706462846144356834 Retweet on Twitter 1706462846144356834 Like on Twitter 1706462846144356834 1 Twitter 1706462846144356834
anxietyocd Paul Greene, Ph.D. @anxietyocd ·
21 Jul

Health insurance is keeping your mind sick and wallet empty #mentalhealth

Reply on Twitter 1682386402594504705 Retweet on Twitter 1682386402594504705 Like on Twitter 1682386402594504705 2 Twitter 1682386402594504705
anxietyocd Paul Greene, Ph.D. @anxietyocd ·
2 Jul

Does your primary care doctor screen you for anxiety disorders? Turns out they should. #anxiety #PublicHealth https://www.cnn.com/2023/06/20/health/uspstf-anxiety-depression-adults

Reply on Twitter 1675637723032322048 Retweet on Twitter 1675637723032322048 Like on Twitter 1675637723032322048 1 Twitter 1675637723032322048
anxietyocd Paul Greene, Ph.D. @anxietyocd ·
19 Jun

Good news -- @liz_roemer has written a great explanation of what it actually looks like to use #mindfulness to deal with chronic pain and illness. If you've felt curious about this, take a read:

Reply on Twitter 1670918249683333120 Retweet on Twitter 1670918249683333120 4 Like on Twitter 1670918249683333120 8 Twitter 1670918249683333120
Load More

Recent Posts

  • How to Handle Depression in Your Important Relationships
  • OCD and Depression: How Are They Connected?
  • Sleep Therapist (CBT-I) in New York
  • Affect Regulation: Everything You Need To Know
  • What Exactly Is “Wise Mind” in DBT?
  • CBT: An Effective Paruresis Treatment Without Medication or Invasive Devices
  • OCD
  • Anxiety
  • Depression
  • Social Anxiety
  • Insomnia
  • Trichotillomania
  • Mindfulness
  • Panic Attacks