DBT Therapy Calgary
Learn the Skills to Navigate Intense Emotions
When emotions feel overwhelming, relationships are chaotic, and traditional coping strategies aren’t working, you need more than just talk therapy—you need concrete skills to manage the intensity. Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) is a specialized form of treatment designed specifically for people who experience emotions more intensely than others and struggle with emotional regulation, interpersonal relationships, and distressing behaviors.
At Alberta Family Psychology, our DBT-trained therapists provide comprehensive skills training and individual therapy to help you develop emotional regulation, interpersonal effectiveness, distress tolerance, and mindfulness skills. DBT isn’t about eliminating difficult emotions—it’s about learning to experience them without being overwhelmed and building the life you want despite emotional challenges.
Who Is DBT Therapy For?
Individuals experiencing intense emotions, relationship difficulties, and potentially harmful behaviors who need specialized skills training to manage emotional dysregulation and build more effective ways of living.
People with chronic emotional dysregulation
Individuals with chronic feelings of emptiness
Adults with borderline personality disorder
Individuals engaging in self-harm behaviors
Comprehensive Skills Training Combined with Individual Therapy
DBT involves both individual therapy sessions and skills group participation, providing comprehensive support for emotional regulation and behavioral change. Individual therapy focuses on your specific goals, motivation for change, and applying DBT skills to your unique life circumstances. We work together to identify target behaviors, develop crisis survival plans, and build your motivation for using skills even when emotions are intense.
The skills component teaches four core modules: Mindfulness (present-moment awareness), Distress Tolerance (surviving crisis without making things worse), Emotion Regulation (understanding and managing emotions effectively), and Interpersonal Effectiveness (asking for what you need and maintaining relationships while respecting yourself). These skills are taught systematically with homework, practice exercises, and real-world application.
What You Can Discover On The Other Side
DBT was specifically designed for people who experience emotions more intensely and includes a strong focus on acceptance alongside change strategies. Unlike CBT, DBT includes comprehensive skills training in four specific areas and emphasizes building distress tolerance rather than just changing thoughts. It’s more structured and longer-term than many therapeutic approaches.
Standard DBT is typically a one-year commitment, though many people see significant improvements within the first few months. The length reflects the time needed to learn and practice all four skills modules and integrate them into daily life. Some people benefit from shorter-term DBT skills training, while others may need longer-term support.
While DBT was originally developed for BPD, it’s now used successfully for many conditions involving emotional dysregulation including eating disorders, substance use, PTSD, mood disorders, and general emotional intensity. You don’t need a specific diagnosis to benefit from DBT skills—you just need to struggle with emotional regulation.
Direct billing
We believe in removing barriers to accessing treatment.
We can direct bill many major insurance companies to ensure your experience with us is more convenient and stress-free.
Our Approach
Our care approach for trauma counselling in Calgary revolves around you.
Begin by booking an appointment with one of our psychologists specifically, or request a match with one based on your individual needs. During your first meeting, we’ll learn about you and your treatment goals and offer our recommendations for specific, evidence-based help. We can also perform assessments to properly diagnose your mental health concerns, enabling us to customize your treatment further. Each subsequent session is a refinement of your goals and the methods that we use to reach them. We encourage growth and self-reflection throughout the process and welcome you to control as much of the decision-making as you are comfortable with.