Expressive Arts Therapy

The Expressive Arts Therapies


Expressive Arts therapies are powerful and effective modalities in the treatment of eating disorders and mental health symptoms. Unexpressed emotions and thoughts out of awareness, interfere with true recovery. Art Therapy, Dance/Movement Therapy, music, and psychodramatic role-play make emotions, bodily-felt sensations, and cognition more accessible. Once emotions and thoughts are accessible, one can better utilize the problem-solving methods in CBT and DBT.

At Resilience DBT & Eating Recovery, we incorporate expressive arts therapies like art and dance therapy as part of our comprehensive approach to treating eating disorders and mental health conditions. Our Licensed therapists use these modalities to help clients access their emotions and thoughts, which can be challenging for those struggling with eating disorders. By integrating expressive arts therapies into our treatment plans, we aim to help our clients build greater self-awareness and emotional regulation skills that support their long-term recovery.

Art Therapy


Art therapy is a form of psychotherapy that uses the creative process of utilizing the process of art to improve mental health and wellbeing. At our practice, we believe that art therapy can be a powerful tool in the treatment of eating disorders. Art therapy can help individuals express and process their emotions, reduce anxiety, and improve self-esteem. Our art therapists work with clients to develop individualized treatment plans that incorporate various art mediums, such as painting, drawing, sculpture, and collage.

Dance/Movement Therapy


Dance therapy is a form of psychotherapy that uses movement and dance to promote emotional, physical, and social integration. Movement Therapy helps clients to develop body awareness, improve self-expression, and explore their emotions through movement. Dance/Movement therapy can be particularly helpful for individuals with eating disorders, as it can help to improve body image and self-esteem.

Expressive Arts Therapies with children & adolescents


We understand that eating disorders, anxiety, depression or traumatic experiences can be especially difficult for children and adolescents to navigate. That’s why our practice is dedicated to providing a safe and supportive environment for young people to explore their emotions and experiences. Our therapists are highly trained to work with children and adolescents and use age-appropriate approaches to treatment.

Eating Disorders


Eating disorders are complex mental health conditions that can have serious physical and emotional consequences. At Resilience DBT & Eating Recovery, we take a comprehensive approach to the treatment of eating disorders, incorporating evidence-based treatments, such as Family Based Treatment (FBT), Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy (CBT) and Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT), as well as expressive arts therapies like art and dance therapy. Our treatment plans are tailored to each individual’s unique needs and often included in their individual therapy, family therapy, and group therapy.

We believe that healing is possible, and we are committed to helping our clients achieve lasting recovery. If you or someone you love is struggling with an eating disorder or other mental health issue, please contact us today to schedule a consultation.

How do I begin?


Our team is dually and expertly trained in the Treatment of Eating Disorders and DBT for Mental Health. Our Evidenced-Based approaches include FBT, CBT-E, DBT-ED, and Comprehensive DBT for co-occurring mental health conditions. Our outpatient practice has helped Children, Teens and Adults achieve full Eating Disorder Recovery and Mental Health Stability for over 25 years.

1

Schedule your 15 minute free phone consultation

This phone screening is highly confidential to help determine if coming to the Resilience practice is the best course for you or your loved one.

2

Complete an Expert and Comprehensive Intake

During your intake appointment we will gather more information to identify your stressors and needs. And work with you to develop your resilience treatment plan.

3

Get connected with Your Personalized Care Team

Meet with a practitioner to get started on your journey of healing and wellness you know you deserve.

Start Your Path To Recovery


Find Recovery & Healing Today

Sign Up For The Resilience Newsletter

Newsletter
Our Professional Affiliations

Dialectical Behavior Therapy Enhanced(DBT-ED)

What is Dialectical Behavior Therapy For Eating Disorders (DBT-ED)?


DBT-ED integrates the core principles and techniques of DBT, including emotion regulation, distress tolerance, interpersonal effectiveness, and mindfulness, with specific strategies that target the dysfunctional attitudes, behaviors, and emotional issues associated with eating disorders.

In DBT-ED, individuals learn to identify and change problematic eating behaviors, manage difficult emotions without resorting to unhealthy eating behaviors, improve interpersonal relationships, and live more mindfully. It’s a comprehensive, evidence-based approach that supports individuals in achieving a healthier relationship with food and their bodies, and in improving their overall quality of life.

Benefits of DBT-ED Therapy


Dialectical Behavior Therapy for Eating Disorders (DBT-ED) offers several benefits for individuals struggling with eating disorders:

  1. Improved emotion regulation: DBT-ED provides individuals with tools to better manage and regulate their emotions, reducing the likelihood of turning to unhealthy eating behaviors as a coping mechanism.
  2. Reduced eating disorder behaviors: DBT-ED directly targets problematic eating behaviors, helping individuals to develop healthier eating patterns and to break the cycle of disordered eating.
  3. Enhanced interpersonal effectiveness: DBT-ED teaches individuals skills to improve their interpersonal relationships, which can often be strained by the impact of an eating disorder.
  4. Increased mindfulness: Through DBT-ED, individuals learn to practice mindfulness, which involves being fully present and engaged in the current moment. This can help to reduce preoccupation with food, weight, and body shape and to promote a healthier relationship with food and the body.
  5. Personalized treatment: DBT-ED is typically tailored to the individual’s specific needs and struggles, making it a flexible and personalized approach to treatment.
  6. Evidence-based approach: DBT-ED is grounded in research and has been shown to be effective in reducing symptoms of various eating disorders, improving overall mood, and enhancing quality of life.

How do I begin?


Our team is dually and expertly trained in the Treatment of Eating Disorders and DBT for Mental Health. Our Evidenced-Based approaches include FBT, CBT-E, DBT-ED, and Comprehensive DBT for co-occurring mental health conditions. Our outpatient practice has helped Children, Teens and Adults achieve full Eating Disorder Recovery and Mental Health Stability for over 25 years.

1

Schedule your 15 minute free phone consultation

This phone screening is highly confidential to help determine if coming to the Resilience practice is the best course for you or your loved one.

2

Complete an Expert and Comprehensive Intake

During your intake appointment we will gather more information to identify your stressors and needs. And work with you to develop your resilience treatment plan.

3

Get connected with Your Personalized Care Team

Meet with a practitioner to get started on your journey of healing and wellness you know you deserve.

Start Your Path To Recovery


Find Recovery & Healing Today

Sign Up For The Resilience Newsletter

Newsletter
Our Professional Affiliations

Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT)

What is Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT)?


Dialectical behavior Therapy (DBT) is a proven and evidence-based treatment that integrates the change-oriented technique of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) with the acceptance strategies of eastern Zen practice. The result is a powerful and balanced treatment approach to help you identify and regulate emotions and improve your interactions with others and yourself.

Benefits of DBT Therapy


DBT therapy helps teens, young adults, and adults learn how to regulate their emotions, develop distress tolerance skills, create rewarding relationships, and accept themselves without judgment. DBT therapy focuses on ensuring client’s safety and developing effective coping skills while helping them create a life they want to live.

DBT therapy allows a personalized treatment approach while also offering guidance on the types of symptoms to target first. The trained DBT therapist helps evaluate, identify target symptoms, and set up the priority to address issues for impactful healing:

Life-threatening behaviors:

self-harm behaviors that can harm the person’s body or health are addressed first, such as suicidal ideation, suicidal and non-suicidal self-injury, and all forms of suicide.

Therapy-interfering behaviors:

Behaviors that interfere with the client receiving effective treatment are addressed next, such as arriving late to sessions, canceling appointments without a reason, or not collaborating toward the treatment goals.

Quality of life behaviors:

Behaviors that interfere with a reasonable quality of life, including actions that impact relationships, finances, substance abuse, and more.

Skills acquisition:

Learning new effective behaviors and skills to help achieve their life goals and improve their social interactions and view of themself.

Comprehensive DBT Components


Our seasoned adult, child, and family therapists specialize in dialectical behavior therapy to help you and your family work through your difficult experiences and emotions so that you can achieve a full and complete recovery. We offer the following programs:

DBT Individual Therapy

Our DBT skills groups can help compliment individual therapy or be used as a stand alone treatment. These groups teach and reinforce the core DBT skills modules, including distress tolerance, emotional regulation, core mindfulness, interpersonal skills, and middle path. We offer groups for teens, young adults, and adults.

DBT Skills Training

In rotating DBT Skills Modules – Distress Tolerance, Emotion Regulation, Core Mindfulness, Interpersonal Skills, and Middle Path for Adolescents & their families.

Phone Coaching

For our clients in Comprehensive DBT, phone coaching is offered as a way to be reminded to use their “Wise Mind” and prevent a urge to self-harm or self-destruct.

DBT Consultation Team

For the practicing therapist to stay adherent and conduct the “best practice” possible.

5 DBT Coping Skills


During individual or group DBT, individuals learn specific coping skill sets to help them overcome problems with dysregulation so they can heal and create the life they want. The specific coping skill sets include:

1. Core Mindfulness

Developing a practice of being fully aware and present in the moment, connected, and tolerate full emotional experiencing.

2. Emotion Regulation

How to identify and manage emotions, by reducing reactivity and building upon positive life experience and good coping skills.

3. Distress Tolerance

How to tolerate and experience emotional pain and anxiety without engaging in self-destructive behavior or avoiding feelings; learning to successfully “urge surf” and not self-harm in any way.

4. Interpersonal Effectiveness

Learn effective communication skills such as how to ask for what you want, set boundaries while maintaining self-respect, learning how to have a successful and positive relationship with others.

5. Middle Path

Learning validation, dialectics, and effective communication for less polarized interactions and more mutual understanding.

Conditions Treated By DBT


Individual and group DBT therapy can help teens through adults struggling with:

  • Depression and mood disorders
  • Anxiety disorders
  • Eating disorders
  • Trauma
  • Unresolved grief
  • Self-harm
DBT Addresses 6 Types of Dysregulation

  • Emotional dysregulation - difficulties with managing emotions and anxiety, mood instability, impulsiveness, and problems with anger
  • Cognitive dysregulation - catastrophic, black-and-white, or all-or-nothing thinking
  • Self dysregulation - feelings of emptiness or disconnection and feelings of lack of self-concept and self-worth
  • Behavioral dysregulation - impulsive and self-harming behaviors and behaviors that can make one’s life worse not better
  • Interpersonal dysregulation - difficulty maintaining positive relationships and fears of rejection and abandonment
  • Self-management dysregulation - mood-dependent behavior and procrastination

DBT Skills Groups for Mental Health


Our Resilience DBT Skills Program offers the formal Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) skills set and incorporates Mindfulness Meditation, Stress Management, and the Expressive Arts Therapies for better self-care and richer self-expression.

Our groups programs serve Adolescents/Parents, Young Adults and University Students and Adults

Join a Group

How do I begin?


Our team is dually and expertly trained in the Treatment of Eating Disorders and DBT for Mental Health. Our Evidenced-Based approaches include FBT, CBT-E, DBT-ED, and Comprehensive DBT for co-occurring mental health conditions. Our outpatient practice has helped Children, Teens and Adults achieve full Eating Disorder Recovery and Mental Health Stability for over 25 years.

1

Schedule your 15 minute free phone consultation

This phone screening is highly confidential to help determine if coming to the Resilience practice is the best course for you or your loved one.

2

Complete an Expert and Comprehensive Intake

During your intake appointment we will gather more information to identify your stressors and needs. And work with you to develop your resilience treatment plan.

3

Get connected with Your Personalized Care Team

Meet with a practitioner to get started on your journey of healing and wellness you know you deserve.

Start Your Path To Recovery


Find Recovery & Healing Today

Sign Up For The Resilience Newsletter

Newsletter
Our Professional Affiliations