Dialectical Behavioral TherapyDialectical behavior therapy treatment (DBT) falls within the category of cognitive-behavioral therapy. Its main focus is on psychosocial characteristics. Based on the theory that emotions can trigger intense reactions in some persons (especially in family/friend or romantic situations), DBT proposes that the extreme swings in feeling can be better controlled by enabling the individual to more easily identify the kinds of thoughts and feelings that have an intense impact and prepare the person cognitively to approach these emotional surges in a new way.

Anderson et al. (2015) show that DBT can be an effective strategy for helping young patients with bulimia nervosa, but that because of limitations inherent within the treatment, it can best be applied in conjunction with family-based therapy. The rationale for this is that DBT naturally lends itself to family-based therapy, because it focuses on relationships and the individual's response to them. By incorporating family-based therapy into the treatment technique, the DBT approach can be enhanced in a more deeply impactful way that provides a better support system for the young person suffering from bulimia nervosa.

This is one of the weaknesses of DBT, as Andreasson et al. (2016)...

The approach of DBT is effective in certain cases, but its limitations -- essentially the need for a stronger support system in order to effectively establish a proper path towards rehabilitation is lacking to some extent. This is not to suggest that DBT is ineffective in treating patients with psychological disorders such as bipolarity, mood disorders, etc. One of the strengths of DBT is that it is able to provide one-on-one or group sessions wherein the patient learns about how to manage distress or how to enhance his or her acceptance skills. DBT also focuses on regulating the emotions and practicing mindfulness as a calming technique so that the patient can adequately and effectively respond to emotional disturbances.
Thus, the treatment has both strengths and weaknesses that both limit its effectiveness and drive its effectiveness. Some patients will benefit more from a treatment like family therapy, depending on the nature and extent of the psychological disorder.

As Anderson et al. (2015) indicate, because of the limitations of both DBT and family-based therapy and the complementary…