Distress Tolerance: The Dialectic

A great description of the “Dialectical” of DBT Therapy:

Before I launch into a special category of Distress Tolerance skills (the “Dialectical” skills, I call them) I want to say (er, write) a few words about the dialectic, which is one of the key concepts behind DBT — so key, in fact, that “Dialectical” is the first word of DBT.

The “dialectic” is a word with a lot — and I mean A LOT — of baggage. Philosophers throughout recorded history have written ridiculous amounts about it, discussing this and that about different types of dialectic, blah blah blah. (Sadly — I write with a smile — this sort of high-falutin’ discussion is what turns ME on, but I know most people would switch off once I started going on about how fascinating it all is, so I’ll stick to what’s pertinent to us.) Essentially, the dialectic is, according to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, “a method of examining and discussing…