Therapists Practising Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT) in India

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    Sharon Narula

    Sharon Narula

    Psychiatrist

    Sharon Narula

    5 Years Exp. | Anxiety | Depression | OCD | Panic | Personality Disorders

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    Shefali Rana

    Shefali Rana

    Counselling Psychologist

    Shefali Rana

    Anxiety | Stress Management | Anger | Grief & Loss | Relationships | Self-Esteem | Life Transitions

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    Vartika Jain

    Vartika Jain

    Counselling Psychologist

    Vartika Jain

    2 Years Exp. | Anxiety | Anger & Emotional Regulation | Depression | Stress, Burnout & Overwhelm | Self Esteem & Imposter

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    Vrinda Goel

    Vrinda Goel

    Counselling Psychologist

    Vrinda Goel

    Psychologist and EFT practitioner supporting anxiety, burnout, trauma and life transitions

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    Dr Titas Chaudhuri

    Dr Titas Chaudhuri

    Psychiatrist

    Dr Titas Chaudhuri

    1 Years Exp. | Depression | Psychosis & Schizophrenia Spectrum | Anger & Emotional Regulation | Addiction & Behavioural Health | OCD

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    Ujjwala Chourasia

    Ujjwala Chourasia

    Counselling Psychologist

    Ujjwala Chourasia

    Senior psychologist specialising in adolescent, student and parent counselling using CBT and REBT

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    Dr Swayam Prava Baral

    Dr Swayam Prava Baral

    Psychiatrist

    Dr Swayam Prava Baral

    Senior psychiatrist integrating evidence-based care with mindfulness and holistic approaches

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    Manasa Saralaya

    Manasa Saralaya

    Counselling Psychologist

    Manasa Saralaya

    6 Years Exp. | Anxiety | Stress, Burnout & Overwhelm | Panic | Existential Concerns + Identity | ADHD

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    Dr Anshu Verma

    Dr Anshu Verma

    Psychiatrist

    Dr Anshu Verma

    Psychiatrist specializing in women’s, child & adolescent, geriatric mental health and stress care.

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    Swasti Jain

    Swasti Jain

    Counselling Psychologist

    Swasti Jain

    Person-centred therapist using CBT & DBT to support anxiety, self-esteem, and stress.

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    Dr Suparna Kumar

    Dr Suparna Kumar

    Psychiatrist

    Dr Suparna Kumar

    Psychiatrist specialising in child & adolescent mental health with a holistic, team-based approach.

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    Dr Elavatsala Sharma

    Dr Elavatsala Sharma

    Psychiatrist

    Dr Elavatsala Sharma

    Experienced psychiatrist specialising in women, child & adolescent mental health and trauma-informed

Common Questions: Dialectical Behaviour Therapy.

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How does DBT help with managing intense emotions?

DBT believes that emotions have various interconnected subsystems that influence one another. According to DBT, an emotion is a brief, automatic response to something that happens around us or within us. But every emotion emerges from a set of factors including a person’s vulnerability to certain emotional triggers, the event that triggered the emotion, the meaning or interpretation one gives to that event, the physical sensations and action urges that follow (such as wanting to cry, shout, run away, or withdraw), how one expresses the emotion through words, facial expressions, or behaviour, and what happens afterwards (including lingering effects or secondary emotions like feeling guilty for being angry or ashamed for crying). This means that if even one part of the system changes, the entire emotional experience can change.

For example, when someone doesn't reply to your message and your interpretation is that they're ignoring you because they don't care about you, you may feel deeply hurt, anxious, or rejected. As a result, your heart might start racing, you may feel the urge to send multiple texts, and later you may feel embarrassed about how you reacted. DBT claims that you don't necessarily have to change the entire emotional experience at once. You can instead work on aspects like questioning your interpretation, calming your body's physical response, resisting the urge to repeatedly text, or bringing your attention back to the present moment. Changing any one of these parts can reduce the intensity of the emotion and influence everything else that follows. This is the foundation of emotion regulation in DBT.

Initially, these skills require much more conscious effort but with regular practice, they gradually become more automatic. This makes it easier to manage your intense emotions and respond mindfully rather than react impulsively.

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What kinds of difficulties is DBT commonly used for?

DBT was originally developed for individuals who were highly suicidal and was later adapted for individuals with Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD). This was based on the understanding that both suicidality and BPD are rooted in severe emotion dysregulation, i.e., difficulty in managing intense emotions effectively. Over the years, it has been researched and recognized that emotion dysregulation is not just limited to these conditions and is a contributor to various other mental health problems. Hence, DBT can be an effective treatment for a range of mental health conditions where emotional regulation is a core challenge. This includes BPD, chronic suicidal thoughts or behaviours and non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI), substance use disorders, eating disorders (particularly binge eating and bulimia nervosa), PTSD (especially when combined with emotion dysregulation or self-harm), depression and anxiety disorders where emotional regulation difficulties play a significant role, mood-related concerns like bipolar disorder (as an adjunct to standard treatment), ADHD and other conditions characterised by impulsivity and emotional reactivity. DBT is also effective in cases of difficulties with anger, relationship conflict, and emotion-driven behaviours.

Overall, DBT can be helpful in addressing any problem where intense emotions often lead to impulsive or self-destructive behaviours, unstable relationships, and a difficulty in coping with distress. The aim of DBT is to teach individuals how to experience their emotions without becoming overwhelmed or acting in ways that stray them away from the life they want to build.

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How do DBT skills help in everyday situations?

DBT skills are particularly meant for improvements in daily life situations like during arguments, disappointments, stressful workdays, relationship conflicts, or emotional crises.

DBT teaches four core skills which are divided into acceptance skills and change skills. The acceptance skills include mindfulness and distress tolerance. These help you acknowledge your thoughts, emotions, and circumstances without immediately trying to fight them or react impulsively. Acceptance doesn't mean that you force yourself to like or approve of a situation. It means seeing things for what they are so that you can respond more effectively. The change skills include emotion regulation and interpersonal effectiveness. Once you've learned to accept your experience, these change skills help you manage your emotions, make thoughtful choices, communicate your needs, and build healthier relationships.

For example, if your partner forgets your wedding anniversary, you may feel hurt, angry, or suspicious, and your instinct may be to send an angry message or stop talking to them altogether. This is where DBT skills come into action and help you respond differently. Mindfulness skills will help you notice what you're feeling without immediately acting on it. You may recognize and acknowledge to yourself that “I'm feeling hurt and angry right now.” Distress tolerance skills will help you endure your intense emotions without rushing to do something that may make things worse. So, instead of sending an impulsive text or ending the conversation in a fit of rage, you’ll use coping strategies to ride out the emotional wave. Emotion regulation skills will help you examine what triggered the emotion, consider whether your interpretation is accurate, and choose a response that aligns with your long-term goals rather than your immediate feelings. Interpersonal effectiveness skills will help you communicate your disappointment calmly and clearly instead of attacking, withdrawing, or expecting your partner to read your mind.

The same process applies in many everyday situations. If you receive critical feedback at work, mindfulness helps you notice your emotional reaction, distress tolerance prevents you from reacting impulsively, emotion regulation helps you manage feelings of shame or frustration, and interpersonal effectiveness allows you to ask questions, express your perspective respectfully, and work towards a solution. Over time, you begin responding with greater awareness, flexibility, and confidence. With regular practice, DBT helps everyday situations feel less overwhelming and more manageable, improving your overall quality of life.

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What happens during a DBT therapy session?

A typical DBT session is highly collaborative, structured, and focused on helping you apply newly learnt skills to real life situations. In comprehensive DBT, individual therapy is often combined with a separate DBT skills training group as each serves a different purpose. Individual therapy focuses on applying the skills to your unique challenges, whereas skills training teaches you the skills themselves.

Most sessions begin with a check-in and a review of the past week. Your therapist may ask you about your mood, significant events, any urges to engage in impulsive behaviours, and how effectively you were able to use your DBT skills. Many therapists also use tools like a diary card which is a simple daily tracking sheet that helps you identify your patterns with respect to your emotions, behaviours, and use of DBT skills. You and your therapist then decide what to focus on. DBT follows a clear treatment hierarchy which means that if there are immediate safety concerns, such as suicidal thoughts or self-harm, those are addressed first. Next come behaviours that interfere with therapy, followed by difficulties affecting your quality of life, such as relationship conflicts, emotional outbursts, or avoidance tendencies.

A key part of therapy sessions is to understand why a particular behaviour occurred. Your therapist may guide you through a behavioural chain analysis where you explore the events, thoughts, emotions, physical sensations, and actions that led up to a problematic behaviour. Once the pattern is understood, you work together on a solution analysis. This is where you identify where DBT skills could be used differently the next time a similar situation arises.

Throughout the session, there is a balance between acceptance and change. DBT therapists validate your experiences and emotions but also gently challenge unhelpful patterns and help you practise healthier ways of coping. You may leave the session with a specific skill to practise, a homework exercise, or a plan for handling situations that may arise before your next session.

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Can DBT help with impulsive actions or emotional outbursts?

Yes, DBT is especially effective for impulsive actions and emotional outbursts. DBT therapists help clients recognise their early warning signs before emotions escalate. Skills like mindfulness, distress tolerance and emotion regulation equip clients with safer ways to manage their emotions and urges. Instead of acting impulsively, they learn how to pause, catch themselves and respond more intentionally. DBT helps people feel more in control of their emotions and actions, hence reducing regretful behaviours.

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Other common questions

Is DBT useful alongside other forms of therapy?

Although DBT is a complete treatment model in itself, it can also be effectively integrated with other therapeutic approaches when it aligns with a person's needs and treatment goals. This is because DBT primarily focuses on building emotional and behavioural coping skills which often complements therapies that explore the underlying causes of psychological distress.

For example, someone with PTSD may first learn DBT skills such as mindfulness, distress tolerance, and emotion regulation to feel more stable and better equipped to manage overwhelming emotions. Once they have developed these coping skills, trauma-focused therapies such as EMDR or Trauma-Focused CBT may be used to help process traumatic memories. In this way, DBT first helps create the emotional stability needed for deeper trauma work.

Similarly, a person with chronic anxiety may benefit from CBT to identify and challenge their unhelpful thinking patterns. Parallelly, DBT may teach them to tolerate uncertainty, regulate the intense emotions that accompany anxiety, and respond more effectively instead of becoming overwhelmed by worry. Together, these approaches help reduce anxiety while also building better emotional resilience and flexibility in the long run.

What should I look for in a trained DBT therapist?

When looking for DBT therapists, it is essential to first inquire about their training. Since DBT is a specialised, evidence-based therapy, it's helpful to work with someone who has received formal training rather than someone who only uses a few DBT techniques. Next, check their experience. You can ask how long they have been practising DBT, the kind of concerns they commonly treat (such as BPD, self-harm, anxiety, emotion dysregulation, or eating disorders), and whether they have facilitated DBT skills training groups or primarily offer individual DBT therapy.

A well-trained DBT therapist should strike a balance between acceptance and change. You should feel understood and validated, while also being encouraged to learn new skills and practise healthier ways of responding to difficult situations. Over time, notice whether your therapist helps you understand your emotional patterns using DBT tools like diary cards, behavioural chain analyses, skills practice, and homework exercises. A good DBT therapist will teach you practical skills, review how they worked in real life, and help you refine them session by session.

Finally, if you're looking for a DBT therapist in India, choose someone who is culturally sensitive and understands the realities of the Indian context. DBT is most effective when its skills are adapted to your unique context while retaining the core principles of the therapy.

How does online DBT therapy work in India?

Online DBT therapy in India works much like in-person sessions. DBT therapists online also focus on teaching skills, discussing emotional challenges, and practising techniques in real time. Clients often receive worksheets or homework exercises between sessions. The online format is especially helpful for people seeking flexibility or living in areas where there is limited access to trained professionals.

What skills are taught as part of DBT?

The duration of DBT depends on individual needs and goals. Some people seek therapy for short-term skill-focused work. Others prefer to engage in longer-term therapy. In general, DBT therapists often recommend committing to therapy long enough to be able to practise and integrate skills meaningfully. Progress is reviewed regularly and therapy length is adjusted accordingly.

How long does DBT therapy usually last?

The duration of DBT therapy depends on individual needs and goals. Some people book a session with DBT therapists for short-term skill-focused work. Others prefer to engage in longer-term therapy. DBT therapists often recommend committing to therapy long enough to practise and integrate skills consistently. Progress is reviewed regularly, and therapy length is adjusted accordingly.

Therapists for PTSD/Trauma → Divorce Therapists → Therapists For Emotional Regulation → Therapists For ADHD → Couples Therapists → Therapists For Depression → Therapy For Borderline Personality Disorder → Therapists For Bipolar Disorder → Therapy For Anxiety → Therapists For Loneliness → Therapists For OCD → Therapists For Infidelity → Therapists For Postpartum Depression → Therapists for Grief → Therapists for Retroactive Jealousy → Therapists for Narcissistic Abuse → Therapists for Procrastination → Therapists for Work-Life Balance → Therapists For Gambling Addiction → Therapists For Separation Anxiety → Therapists For Self-Esteem → Therapists For Social Media Addiction → Therapists for BDD → Therapists for Seniors →
Narcissistic Abuse Support Group → ADHD Support Group → BPD Support Group → Porn Addiction Support Group → Conscious Coupling → Divorce Support Group → Grief Support Group → PTSD Support Group → Childfree: Yes or No? → Emotional Regulation Support Group → Emotional Eating Support Group → OCD Support Group → Bipolar Disorder Support Group → Single Parenting Support Group → ADHD Parent Support Group →
ADHD Support Groups → Divorce Support Groups → Relationship Support Groups → Skill-based Groups → Addiction Support Groups → PTSD Support Groups → Emotional Regulation Support Groups → Support Groups for Women → Support Groups for Men → Patient Support Groups → Groups for Life Decisions → Support Groups for BPD → Support Groups for Depression → Postpartum Depression Support Groups → Groups for Couple Relationships →
Anxiety → Porn Addiction → Overthinking → Narcissistic Abuse → Depression → ADHD → Borderline Personality Disorder → Couple Relationships → PTSD → Emotional regulation → Retroactive jealousy → Sleep Issues → Attachment Style → Grief → Narcissism → Postpartum Depression → Procrastination → Men's Mental Health →
Humanistic/Person Centred Approach → Rational Emotive Behaviour Therapy (REBT) → Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) → Expressive Arts → Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT) → Internal Family Systems (IFS) →
Pregnancy Loss Support Group → Support Groups for Loneliness → Support Groups for Caregivers → Support Groups for New Moms → Support Groups for Adoption → Support Group for Drug Addiction → Support Group for Empty Nest → Support Groups for Gambling Addiction → Support Groups for Heartbreak → Support Groups for Infidelity → Support Groups for Procrastination → Support Groups for Retroactive Jealousy →