DBT-Informed Therapy In Utah
Practical, trauma-informed therapy for adults with emotional overwhelm, relationship triggers, fear of abandonment, shame spirals, and intense emotional reactions.
DBT-informed therapy can help you build skills for managing big emotions, tolerating distress, communicating more clearly, and responding to hard moments with more steadiness and choice.
When Emotions Hit Hard and Fast
Do uncomfortable emotions hit you like a freight train, leading you to react in ways you later regret? Maybe your emotions go from 0 to 100 in seconds, or intense waves of fear, shame, anger, or sadness leave you feeling suddenly small, exposed, or completely overwhelmed.
Sometimes it starts with something small. A conversation shifts, someone’s tone changes, conflict begins to build, or a disappointment lands harder than it should. Before you have time to think clearly, your whole system is activated.
You may benefit from DBT-informed therapy if you find yourself…
Feeling emotions intensely and struggling to come back down
Reacting in ways you later regret
Getting overwhelmed by conflict or taking a long time to recover
Shutting down, spiraling, or feeling flooded in relationships
Fearing abandonment, rejection, or disappointing others
People-pleasing, struggling with boundaries, or feeling responsible for others’ emotions
Feeling “too much,” “too sensitive,” or hard to understand
These reactions are often learned survival responses. DBT-informed therapy can help you understand what is happening, build skills that work in real life, and create more stability for deeper healing.
What Is DBT-Informed Therapy?
DBT stands for Dialectical Behavior Therapy. It is a structured, skills-based approach that helps people manage intense emotions, tolerate distress, reduce reactivity, and navigate relationships more effectively.
At Soul Perch Counseling, we integrate DBT skills into a broader trauma-informed therapy approach. Depending on your needs, DBT skills may be used alongside EMDR, IFS-informed work, anxiety treatment, and other approaches.
DBT-informed therapy is practical, but it is more than a set of coping skills. The goal is to help you understand why your nervous system reacts the way it does, build skills that work in real life, and create enough stability for deeper healing.
DBT-informed therapy helps you hold two truths at once: your reactions make sense, and you can learn new ways to respond. The work is customized to your history, your nervous system, and your goals.
Ready to take the first step toward healing? Reach out or book a free consultation!
DBT Skills You May Learn
DBT skills are for those moments when emotions feel overwhelming or you feel pulled toward reactions that do not serve you. In therapy, these skills are applied to your real life and relationships to help you skillfully navigate situations that are hardest to cope with.
DBT skills are grouped into four categories:
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Learning to notice thoughts, emotions, body sensations, and urges before reacting automatically. This may include noticing early signs of shutdown, emotional flooding, shame, or anger.
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Getting through painful moments without escalating, shutting down, or doing something that creates more harm. This may include grounding, self-soothing, urge surfing, reconnecting with your body, and crisis survival skills.
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Understanding emotions, reducing vulnerability to emotional spirals, and learning how to shift emotional intensity. This may include naming emotions, checking the facts, slowing down, and choosing the next effective step.
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Asking for what you need, setting boundaries, communicating clearly, handling and repairing conflict, and prioritizing self-respect in relationships.
How DBT Helps with Trauma-Related Emotional Dysregulation
Emotional dysregulation is common in people who have experienced trauma, attachment wounds, neglect, abandonment, or unpredictable relationships.
For example, if you grew up walking on eggshells, your nervous system may still scan for rejection or danger. Even small moments, like a change in tone, constructive feedback, or relationship conflict, can feel threatening even when you logically know you are safe. You might notice panic, anger, shame, shutdown, or alternating between rigid control and total overwhelm. These responses aren’t “overreactions,” but learned survival patterns.
DBT skills can help you slow things down, understand what is happening in your body and mind, and respond to triggers with more steadiness. They can also provide the stability needed to make trauma therapy safer and more effective.
For some clients, DBT-informed work helps prepare for EMDR. For others, DBT skills are woven throughout longer-term trauma therapy as practical support for the emotions and relationship stress that come up along the way.
What Issues Can DBT Help With?
DBT-informed therapy may be helpful if you struggle with:
Emotional overwhelm and panic-like flooding
Relationship triggers, fear of abandonment, or reassurance seeking
Shame spirals and self-criticism
Anger, irritability, or reactivity
People-pleasing and difficulty with boundaries
Impulsive coping patterns
Numbness, shutdown, or dissociation
Taking a long time to recover after conflict or emotional triggers
Feeling controlled by emotions or struggling to use coping skills in the moment
You do not need a specific diagnosis to benefit from DBT-informed therapy. Many adults seek this kind of work because they want to feel steadier, communicate more clearly, and respond to triggers in ways that fit their values.
Clients in DBT-informed therapy may begin to notice changes like…
Increased ability to pause before reacting
Recovering more quickly after conflict, criticism, or emotional triggers
Less panic, shame, anger, or shutdown in moments that used to feel overwhelming
More confidence setting boundaries and asking for what you need
A greater ability to tolerate distress without spiraling or disconnecting
Feeling more grounded in relationships, even when someone else is upset, distant, or disappointed
What to Expect in DBT-Informed Therapy
Sessions are conducted one-on-one, typically scheduled weekly. DBT-informed therapy at Soul Perch Counseling is collaborative, practical, and tailored to your needs. Together, we will:
1. Understand your Patterns
We’ll identify what tends to trigger overwhelm, shutdown, shame, conflict, or impulsive reactions. We’ll look at what happens before, during, and after those moments so the pattern becomes clearer.
2. Build Practical Skills
You’ll learn DBT skills you can use between sessions, especially when emotions feel intense or hard to manage. This may include mindfulness, emotion regulation, distress tolerance, or interpersonal effectiveness skills.
3. Support Deeper Healing
If trauma work is part of your treatment plan, we’ll make sure you have tools to manage what comes up during and between sessions. Therapy may also include EMDR, IFS-informed work, anxiety treatment, or other trauma-informed approaches.
DBT-Informed Therapy at Soul Perch Counseling
Caitlin Moore, CMHC works with adults navigating trauma, anxiety, emotional dysregulation, relationship triggers, and patterns that feel hard to change.
Caitlin’s approach is trauma-informed, practical, collaborative, and paced according to your needs. DBT skills may be integrated to help you feel steadier, safer, and more capable of handling intense emotions.
Healing at the root: Rather than focusing only on coping skills, Caitlin works to uncover and address what's actually driving the intense emotions in the first place. She helps people reach lasting change by not just feeling less distressed in the moment, but feeling more grounded and confident over time.
Extended Sessions Available: Soul Perch Counseling offers extended sessions up to 80 minutes for clients who find that the standard 50-minute session does not leave enough time. This flexible approach allows therapy to unfold at a pace that fits you.
Online DBT-Informed Therapy Throughout Utah
At Soul Perch Counseling, all sessions are conducted online through HIPAA-compliant telehealth. You can access DBT-informed therapy from anywhere in Utah, including Salt Lake City, Provo, St. George, Ogden, Logan, Park City, and surrounding communities.
Telehealth works well for DBT-informed therapy because you can practice skills in the same environment where difficult emotions and relationship stressors arise. All you need is a private space and a reliable internet connection.
Common Questions About DBT-Informed Therapy
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No. Soul Perch Counseling offers individual therapy that integrates DBT skills into trauma-informed care. Comprehensive DBT typically includes individual therapy, skills group, between-session coaching, and a therapist consultation team. Soul Perch Counseling does not offer DBT skills group or between-session phone coaching at this time.
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No. Many people benefit from DBT-informed therapy because they struggle with emotional overwhelm, relationship triggers, shame spirals, fear of abandonment, people-pleasing, anger, shutdown, or difficulty calming down after conflict.
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No. DBT is often associated with borderline personality disorder treatment, but DBT skills can also help many people who struggle with intense emotions, distress tolerance, relationship stress, trauma responses, and impulsive coping patterns.
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DBT skills can help with stabilization, emotional regulation, distress tolerance, and relationship skills. For some clients, this makes deeper trauma work feel safer and more manageable. For others, DBT skills are woven throughout therapy as ongoing support.
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Yes. Many clients benefit from building emotion regulation, distress tolerance, and self-soothing skills before beginning EMDR. These skills can help you feel more prepared to manage emotions, memories, and body sensations that may come up during trauma work.
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Yes. Emotional dysregulation looks different for everyone—anger, panic, shame, numbness, dissociation, avoidance, or people-pleasing. DBT-informed therapy is tailored to the way your nervous system responds.
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A history of self-harm or suicidal thoughts does not automatically mean therapy at Soul Perch Counseling is the wrong fit. DBT-informed therapy can be a helpful fit for people who experience urges to self-harm, struggle with wanting to live, or want more effective ways to cope with distress.
If you have had a recent suicide attempt, have active suicidal intent, or need more intensive support, a comprehensive DBT program or higher level of care may be the safest option.
If you have questions about whether Soul Perch Counseling or a higher level of care is the right fit for your situation, you are welcome to reach out or schedule a free consultation.
Take the First Step Toward Feeling Steadier
If intense emotions, relationship triggers, fear of abandonment, or shame spirals have been running your life, DBT-informed therapy may be the right fit for you.
A free 15-minute consultation is a low-pressure way to ask questions, share what has been going on, and see whether working together feels like a good fit.