Why I don't think DBT is a good therapy for abuse survivors, and a professional's opposing view (in comments)

It is widely acknowledged that most women ... are victims of abuse...

This isn't actually true. Most abuse victims are women but most women are not abuse victims.

As for DBT criticisms, the whole article appears to have a fundamental misunderstanding of DBT, for example, the fact that DBT is essentially CBT with a slightly broader scope of inclusion in methods (mindfulness for example). In other words, the gripes the author has about X in DBT are accompanied by standard CBT practices, which do address traumatic events and memories.

Learning to cope with trauma, working through the trauma, coming to terms with the trauma's effect on your life, and learning to move forward from the trauma are all central parts of CBT when it comes to abuse survivors.

The more-than-CBT elements of DBT are intended to help sufferers cope with short term obstacles such as flashbacks or triggered moods insofar as to help ground a trauma victim in the event of a flashback by using breathing exercises or tactile focus, or using diversionary techniques to overcome severe episodes of anxiety or panic - just as an example. These are circumstantial, and do not in any way enable unhealthy behaviours if used correctly, and with guidance and support.

Dissociation, compartmentalisation, detachment, anxiety, mood triggers/stress triggers and flashbacks are worked on as part of a much larger psychiatric care process, and the elements discussed in the article are never used without the accompanying CBT (which is the very foundation of DBT).

Having said all of that individuals are individuals, and some techniques don't work for everyone. Often the needs and capabilities of a trauma victim depend entirely on how their trauma presents itself on a day to day basis. For example, some PTSD sufferers will suffer from persistent flashbacks, night terrors and panic attacks, whereas others will suffer more of the dissociative traits - detachment, compartmentalisation, anhedonia. Others may experience the full lot.

Lastly I'll say that the article did an extremely poor job of connecting its original premise (As Marsha Linehan popularized Dialectical Behavior Therapy, some of that stigma began to dissipate and BPD is now seen as a treatable disorder – but is its true origin being addressed?) with the rest of the article. It drew no connections between BPD and abuse, or BPD and PTSD, which means there is either no relevant connection, or the author assumed the reader had a lot of knowledge that they probably don't.

/r/mentalhealth Thread Link - dailytwocents.com