Trauma Treatment

DBT PE stands for Dialectical Behaviour Therapy with the treatment approach of prolonged exposure. In plain language, DBT PE is a form of therapy for people who have experienced trauma and continue to struggle with fear, disgust, and shame.

Clients who have been treated with this protocol tend to report:

  • significant reduction in self-blame and feelings of self-hatred;

  • substantive changes in core beliefs (e.g. letting go of a belief “I am unloveable”);

  • measurable improvement in ability to feel and engage with positive or wanted emotions;

  • and increased ability to maintain healthy and fulfilling relationships with others.

To learn more about DBT PE, visit https://dbtpe.org/.

What is DBT pe?

Trauma Intensives

Intensives range from half-day (4 hours) to multi-day (up to 3 days), depending on your needs and capacity.

Each intensive may include:

  • preparation and goal-setting

  • guided trauma processing (when appropriate)

  • DBT skill integration

  • grounding and regulation practices

  • integration and aftercare planning

Breaks and pacing are built in throughout.

WHO THIS IS FOR:
These intensives may be a good fit if you:

  • have some existing coping skills and support in place

  • are wanting to go deeper than weekly therapy allows

  • are working with specific trauma memories or patterns

  • feel ready for a more focused, contained therapeutic experience

This format is not suited for folks in acute crisis or without sufficient external support.

APPROACH:
This work is grounded in DBT principles, including:

  • balancing acceptance and change

  • building skills alongside processing

  • working within your window of tolerance

  • prioritizing safety and collaboration

Reach out to set up a consultation to explore fit, readiness, and the structure that would best support you.

what’s different about DBT pe versus other forms of trauma treatment?

A key difference between DBT PE and other forms of trauma therapy (e.g. Cognitive Processing Therapy, EMDR, etc) is that DBT PE is specifically designed to treat traumatic invalidation.

Traumatic invalidation occurs when a person’s environment repeatedly or intensely communicates that their characteristics, behaviors, or emotional reactions are unacceptable. Traumatic invalidation is typically done by important people, groups, or institutions that the person is close to or dependent on and/or may occur at the cultural level for people from marginalized groups. Invalidating behaviors can take many forms and cause people to develop a variety of negative beliefs about themselves. Often the person’s responses to the invalidation are also invalidated, which leads to even more suffering. (From Treating Trauma in Dialectical Behavior Therapy: The DBT Prolonged Exposure Protocol (DBT PE) by Melanie S. Harned. Copyright © 2022 The Guilford Press.)

People who have experienced traumatic invalidation usually come to form core beliefs about themselves like:

  • “I am inferior”

  • “I am bad”

  • “I am unloveable”

  • “I don’t matter”

  • “I can’t be trusted”

  • “I am crazy”

  • “I am incompetent”

  • “I cause problems”

  • “I don’t belong”

Examples of traumatic invalidation include:

  • emotional abuse

  • verbal abuse

  • neglect

  • being blamed when telling someone about a traumatic event or betrayal you experienced