Gestalt therapy rests on five principles based on how people perceive the world around them. The idea is that the mind recognizes patterns, and these patterns fall into groups, or principles. The five patterns are: proximity, similarity, continuity, closure, and connectedness.
I had a very rough weekend. I’m going to talk about it for two reasons. One, it may help someone to know how I handle the really huge anxiety attacks. Two, I often feel like a fake, writing about how to handle anxiety, depression, and PTSD when I still struggle so hard with them. Yes,… Read More Top Skills Thursday: Triggered and Fighting
Gestalt therapy originated with Frederick and Laura Perls in the 1940’s. This particular discipline doesn’t involve attempting to interpret the past, but instead it focuses on present events. This was the first form of therapy I experienced. I think it set me up to delve into DBT therapy later because of how it approaches the… Read More Therapy Tuesday: Gestalt Therapy – Part 1
Today I’m tackling another skill that has been subjected to a lot of scrutiny and criticism, generally from those who don’t understand what it’s about. Radical acceptance is a powerful tool for change and reducing internal turmoil. In hopes of avoiding triggering anyone, I’m going to use an analogy and let you translate that into… Read More Top-Skills Thursday: Radical Acceptance
We’ve reached the end of the series on Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT). I know it took a while to get here, but as was shown, it’s a complex, multifaceted therapy. The entire course takes a full six months of weekly group sessions in addition to some pretty intense individual sessions. It’s a commitment of time,… Read More Therapy Tuesday: DBT Wrap-Up
I still like the way emotional regulation was described to me when I was working with my DBT group. The therapist leading the group said something along the lines of this: Most of us have cooked something in our lives. Maybe a simple meal, maybe something fancy. Imagine if you had to cook without any… Read More Therapy Tuesday: DBT – Part 4D – Emotional Regulation
After lots of therapy, and a new therapist, I finally have enough headspace to write again. I’m working on new posts for everyone, and back on my stories as well. It’s a wonderful feeling. Nothing I do makes me as happy as being able to write. Not being able to write is a recipe for… Read More Update!
Distress tolerance is the third module in DBT therapy. This section is exactly what it sounds like; how to handle those overwhelming moments.
The second set of skills learned in DBT therapy is grouped together and called “interpersonal effectiveness.” I’ll be posting some images of the worksheets at the end of the post, in case anyone wants to use them. These are also readily available online, if you need copies.
Four simple DBT tricks to help when you’re overwhelmed.… Read More Top Skills Thursday: T.I.P.P.
