Finding Balance: How Comprehensive DBT Can Help Adults Thrive
Life can feel overwhelming—especially when emotions run high, relationships are strained, or daily responsibilities start to pile up. For many adults, these challenges can lead to patterns of anxiety, depression, emotion dysregulation, or impulsive behaviors that can lead to chronic feelings of emptiness. If this sounds familiar, a comprehensive Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) program might offer the structure and support needed to balance acceptance of oneself as they are with using skills to create lasting change.
At The Ross Center, our Comprehensive Adult DBT Program goes beyond weekly therapy. It’s a well-rounded, evidence-based treatment designed to help individuals learn skills to build a life worth living. Rooted in mindfulness and behavioral science, DBT equips adults with practical tools to navigate intense emotions, improve relationships, and develop self-compassion.
What Makes Comprehensive DBT Different?
Unlike DBT-informed therapy, which may use tools and principles from DBT, comprehensive DBT includes all four key components:
- Weekly individual therapy to address personal goals and apply DBT skills in real-life situations.
- Weekly skills group where clients learn and practice tools related to mindfulness, distress tolerance, emotion regulation, and interpersonal effectiveness.
- Phone coaching for in-the-moment support with real-time challenges.
- Ongoing consultation for therapists, ensuring treatment stays on track and clients receive the highest quality care.
Why It Works for Adults
Comprehensive DBT helps adults learn how to effectively respond—rather than react—to difficult emotions. This can lead to more stability at work, healthier boundaries in relationships, decreased frequency and intensity of unwanted emotions, and fewer moments of regret or shame. Over time, clients often report a deeper sense of control, confidence, and clarity in their lives.
Many adults find that DBT offers a new way to understand themselves and the function of their emotions. It’s not about becoming a different person—it’s about learning skills that support your goals and values. Clients often tell me that they appreciate the focus on learning concrete skills that can be applied across a variety of situations and cultural and diagnostic contexts. Whether you’re dealing with chronic emotion dysregulation, self-destructive behaviors, or just feel stuck in patterns that aren’t serving you, comprehensive DBT offers a path forward.
We’re Here for You
Contact Us for more information about the Comprehensive Adult DBT Program – offered both in person in our Virginia office and virtually to residents of Washington DC, Maryland or Virginia – or in any of the 42 states where PSYPACT has been enacted. PSYPACT is a program that allows licensed therapists to practice virtually in approved states. Click here to see whether your state is included in the list of eligible states..
