Emotion Regulation
DBT-Informed Therapy on Long Island
Dialectical Behavior Therapy pairs radical acceptance with real change, teaching skills to move through overwhelming emotions without being swept away by them.
Perhaps you’ve told yourself, “This is the last time,” only to find yourself reacting in the same ways again. You may struggle with overwhelming emotions, self-harm, impulsive behaviors, people-pleasing, shutting down, or relationships that feel intense and exhausting. Understanding these patterns doesn’t always make them easier to change.
DBT offers practical skills for navigating life’s most difficult moments while helping you better understand the emotions beneath them. Together, we’ll build new ways to tolerate distress, regulate emotions, communicate effectively, and respond with intention rather than reacting automatically. Over time, you’ll develop greater confidence in your ability to navigate difficult moments without losing yourself in them.
Who this helps
You might recognize yourself here.
- Emotions that feel intense, fast-moving, or overwhelming
- Impulsive or self-defeating behaviors you want to change
- Traits associated with Borderline Personality Disorder
- Chronic feelings of emptiness or self-criticism
- Difficulty with boundaries and relationships
The four skills we build
DBT organizes change around four areas that reinforce each other:
- Mindfulness: noticing what’s happening inside without being ruled by it
- Distress tolerance: getting through crisis moments without making them worse
- Emotion regulation: understanding, naming, and shifting intense emotions
- Interpersonal effectiveness: asking for what you need and holding boundaries
Acceptance and change, together
The “dialectic” at the heart of DBT is the balance between accepting yourself exactly as you are and committing to change. Many people arrive having only ever heard the “change” half, often as criticism. We start with the acceptance half, because self-compassion is what makes lasting change possible.
This work is especially supportive for people navigating chronic emotion dysregulation, self-criticism, and patterns of behavior they want to stop but have felt unable to.
Common questions
DBT-Informed Therapy, answered.
Is this a full DBT program with groups?+
Not currently. I offer individual, DBT-informed therapy, the skills and framework of DBT woven into our one-on-one work. If you need a comprehensive adherent DBT program with skills group and phone coaching, I’m glad to help you find one and can be a referral resource.
Do I need a BPD diagnosis to benefit from DBT skills?+
Not at all. DBT was developed with emotion dysregulation in mind, but its skills help anyone who struggles with intense emotions, stress, relationships, or impulsive patterns, no diagnosis required.
How is DBT different from regular talk therapy?+
DBT is more structured and skills-focused. Alongside exploring your experience, you leave sessions with concrete tools to practice, so change happens in your daily life and not only in the room.
Related ways to work together
A gentle first step
Begin exactly where you are.
You don’t need to have the words figured out. A first conversation is simply a place to start, no pressure, no commitment.