Enjoy this rare opportunity to watch a true pioneer in action. Marsha Linehan, PhD, the creator of Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT), is best known for her success with suicidal and highly complex clients. The amount of evidence-based research surrounding DBT is tremendous; not only in its application with Borderline Personality Disorder, but also with many other hard-to-treat conditions.
In this video, watch Linehan demonstrate her approach with an extremely challenging client who manifests significant Axis II issues. This middle-aged man is struggling with depression, suicidal ideation, anger, and a sense that he has been treated unfairly by his ex-girlfriend—all of which is hidden behind a brittle defensiveness. You’ll see Linehan conducting an initial behavioral assessment, interspersed with DBT techniques, including her use of dialectics, irreverence, “validating the valid,” and an emphasis on client choice. While the client works to keep his worst behaviors hidden from Linehan, and is reluctant to commit to any treatment, Linehan carefully, cleverly, and matter-of-factly garners necessary information about him, assesses his suicidality and history of domestic violence, helps him define and commit to his goals, and builds an appropriate initial alliance. You’ll be impressed by how much she accomplishes in a single session!
Note: This video is part of a series, 3 Approaches to Personality Disorders, in which two other masters—psychoanalyst Otto Kernberg and CBT expert Art Freeman—work with the same client.
