Understanding the Core Tenets of RO-DBT, ACT, and DBT
Discover the foundational principles that will empower you to manage emotions, enhance relationships, and live a values-driven life.
Core Tenets of RO-DBT: Radically Open Dialectical Behavior Therapy
Build a Life Worth Sharing
Finding Your Edge
In RO-DBT, “edges” refer to the areas where a person encounters discomfort, resistance, or avoidance in their thoughts, feelings, or behaviors.
Edges often represent moments of emotional or cognitive struggle and are opportunities for growth and self-discovery.
Tribal Nature and Social Bonds
Living a life worth sharing
Humans are inherently tribal, relying on social bonds for survival.
Social cooperation is essential for sharing resources and working together.
Components of Psychological Well-being
Well-being involves openness, flexibility, and social connectedness.
Radical openness embodies these factors, forming the core principle of RO-DBT.
Signaling and Over-Control
Social signaling is central to treatment because it addresses how people with overcontrolled tendencies communicate their emotions to others.
Social signaling affects loneliness in individuals with over-control disorders.
Complexity of Over-Control
Over-control involves complex interactions among biology, environment, and coping styles.
Bio-temperamental deficits contribute to rigid behavioral responses.
Experiential Learning Approach
Cultivating radical openness and self-enquiry involves experiential learning.
Individuals engage in practical experiences to develop these skills.
Core Tenets of ACT: Acceptance and Commitment Therapy
Get Out of Your Head and Into Your Life
Present Moment Awareness
Ground yourself by anchoring your focus, expanding your awareness, and engaging in mindful movements like stretching and breathing. Rate your present level of presence on a scale of 0 to 10.
Values Clarification
Reflect on the purpose behind your actions and identify the values that drive you forward. How aligned are you with these values right now? Rate your connection to your values on a scale of 0 to 10.
Committed Action
Determine your goals (Specific, Meaningful, Adaptable, Realistic and Time-Bound) in the immediate, short, medium and long term that resonate with your values and assess your willingness to pursue them.
Defusion Techniques
Acknowledge and label (notice and name, thank you mind etc) challenging thoughts and memories, observing their characteristics without getting entangled. Rate your level of attachment to these thoughts on a scale of 0 to 10.
Acceptance Practice
Embrace difficult experiences with openness and compassion, allowing them to flow through you without resistance. Are you willing to create space for these experiences to unfold? Notice & Name: Open up, allow it to flow through you. Hold yourself kindly. Are you willing to make room for this?
Self-as-Context
Recognize the part of yourself that observes your thoughts, images, memories, emotions, and sensations without being defined by them. Use this perspective to gain clarity and insight into your experiences.
Core Tenets of DBT: Dialectical Behavior Therapy
Build a Life Worth Living
Being present in the moment and aware of your thoughts, feelings, and surroundings without judgment.
Developing skills to tolerate and survive crises without resorting to harmful behaviors. This includes learning techniques for self-soothing and distraction.
Understanding and managing intense emotions effectively. This involves identifying and labeling emotions, reducing vulnerability to negative emotions, and increasing positive emotional experiences.
Enhancing skills to interact assertively, maintaining self-respect, and strengthening relationships. This includes learning to ask for what you need, saying no, and coping with interpersonal conflict.