Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT)

When Emotions Feel Unmanageable

Emotions are meant to guide us, but sometimes they become overwhelming in ways that feel impossible to navigate. You may find yourself reacting more intensely than you intended, struggling to calm down once you're upset, or saying things you later regret.

Maybe relationships feel like a series of conflicts that are hard to repair. Maybe you've tried to cope with difficult emotions using strategies that provide temporary relief but cause problems later. You may notice that your reactions feel out of proportion to what's happening, leaving you confused and exhausted.

These patterns can influence more than just your mood in the moment. They can affect your relationships, work performance, self-esteem, physical health, and the way you view yourself and your ability to cope.

At Jeanes Mental Health Services, we provide dialectical behavior therapy (DBT), a specialized treatment that combines cognitive and behavioral strategies to improve emotional regulation, interpersonal effectiveness, and distress tolerance. Our approach balances acceptance and change, helping you build skills that support lasting well-being. We keep your individual needs, goals, and values at the center of the work.

Understanding Common Concerns

Everyone experiences intense emotions at times. For some people, these experiences become frequent, disruptive, or difficult to manage without additional support. Sometimes you know exactly which situations trigger the hardest reactions. Other times, you may simply know that emotions feel harder to handle than you'd like.

You may be experiencing:

  • Emotions that feel overwhelming, intense, or difficult to manage

  • Quick shifts in mood that seem to come on suddenly

  • Difficulty calming down once you're upset or emotionally activated

  • Impulsive behaviors you later regret, such as substance use, self-harm, or reckless actions

  • Relationships marked by conflict, instability, or fear of abandonment

  • Feeling misunderstood by others or unable to communicate your needs effectively

  • Difficulty saying no or asserting boundaries without guilt or anxiety

  • Strong reactions to perceived rejection, criticism, or conflict

  • Struggles with self-harm behaviors or suicidal thoughts

  • Using substances, food, spending, or other behaviors to cope with emotional pain

  • Feeling chronically empty, numb, or disconnected from yourself

  • Difficulty trusting others while also fearing being alone

  • Patterns of entering or staying in unhealthy relationships

  • High levels of shame, guilt, or self-criticism following emotional episodes

  • Frustration with yourself for "overreacting" to situations

You don't have to wait until you're in crisis to seek support. Sometimes therapy begins with recognizing that you deserve skills and support to navigate difficult emotions in healthier ways.

DBT can provide practical tools to understand emotional triggers, regulate intense feelings, and communicate more effectively with yourself and others.

Understanding What Is Happening Beneath the Surface

Dialectical behavior therapy was originally developed to help people manage intense emotions and reduce harmful behaviors. It's based on the idea that we can hold two seemingly opposite truths at once—accepting ourselves as we are while working to create meaningful change.

DBT focuses on four core areas, each building skills that support better emotional and relational functioning.

Our therapists take time to understand your specific patterns rather than applying a generic approach.

Together, we may explore:

Mindfulness: Learn to stay present in the moment, observe your thoughts and feelings without judgment, and respond intentionally rather than react automatically.

Distress Tolerance: Develop skills to survive crises without making things worse, tolerate difficult emotions without impulsive action, and accept reality as it is in the moment.

Emotional Regulation: Understand the function of emotions, reduce vulnerability to emotional suffering, increase positive emotional experiences, and learn to change emotions when you want to.

Interpersonal Effectiveness: Build skills to ask for what you need, say no effectively, maintain relationships while respecting yourself, and navigate conflict with greater confidence.

Balancing Acceptance and Change: Explore how accepting yourself and your circumstances can coexist with committed action toward change—a dialectical approach to living.

Skills Practice and Coaching: DBT often includes between-session coaching to practice skills in real-time as challenges arise, supporting generalization of what you learn in therapy.

The goal isn't to eliminate strong emotions or never feel distress. It's to build the skills to navigate intense experiences in ways that protect your well-being and support your relationships.

Insurance & Access

We accept most major insurance plans, including Blue Cross Blue Shield, Cigna, Optum, Aetna, UnitedHealthcare, and TRICARE. Coverage varies by state and plan, and we're happy to help you check your eligibility before your first session.

Private Support That Fits Into Real Life

Discussing mental health concerns requires a space where you can feel comfortable being honest. Telehealth allows you to meet with your therapist from a private location without adding another appointment or commute to your schedule.

We use Zoom to provide secure and confidential therapy sessions, allowing you to connect with your therapist from wherever you are in Georgia or North Carolina.

DBT works well in a telehealth setting because skills can be practiced in your everyday environment and coaching can be accessed when you need it. Whether you're seeking relief from intense emotional experiences or working on longer-term pattern change, sessions can provide a dedicated space to develop and refine skills you'll continue using.

Ready to Talk to Someone?

Intense emotions and challenging relationship patterns can leave you feeling overwhelmed and unsupported. Dialectical behavior therapy can offer a private, supportive space to understand your emotional triggers, learn practical skills, and build a life that feels manageable and meaningful.

Whether you're working through emotional dysregulation, relationship instability, distress tolerance challenges, impulsive behaviors, or patterns that feel hard to shift on your own, DBT can help you approach these concerns with greater skill, self-understanding, and intention.

[Schedule Your First Session →]

Or call us today at 678-805-7181 or email info@jeanesmentalhealth.com.

We're here to provide a compassionate, non-judgmental space where you can speak openly about what you're experiencing. Our therapists will work with you to understand the patterns that may be affecting your well-being and develop a path forward that reflects your needs and goals.