What Is DBT Therapy? How Dialectical Behavior Therapy Can Help You Manage Emotions and Build a Better Life
Have you ever felt like your emotions hit harder than they should? Like you go from zero to overwhelmed in seconds — and then spend the next hours (or days) trying to recover?
Or maybe you find yourself in the same argument over and over. The same patterns. The same fallout. No matter how much you want things to be different.
If any of that sounds familiar, you’re not alone — and there’s a specific kind of counseling built exactly for this.
It’s called DBT. And it might be the most practical, skills-focused approach to mental health care you’ve never heard of.
What Is DBT Therapy?
DBT stands for Dialectical Behavior Therapy. It was developed in the late 1980s by psychologist Dr. Marsha Linehan, originally to treat people with intense emotional experiences and chronic thoughts of self-harm. Over time, research showed it was highly effective for a much broader range of people — and today it’s one of the most widely used, evidence-based approaches in mental health care.
The word “dialectical” simply means balancing opposites. In DBT, that balance is between two ideas that might seem contradictory at first:
You are doing the best you can — and you can do better.
That’s the foundation. No shame, no blame. Just honest acknowledgment of where you are, paired with a real commitment to building skills that help you get where you want to go.
How Is DBT Different From Regular Talk Therapy?
Traditional talk therapy — the kind most people picture when they think of counseling — focuses heavily on exploring feelings, processing experiences, and gaining insight. That work has real value.
DBT does something different. It teaches you specific, practical skills you can actually use — in the moment, in real situations, in your real life.
Think of it less like processing and more like training. You learn tools. You practice them. You use them when things get hard.
For people who have tried counseling before and felt like nothing changed, DBT is often the missing piece. It’s not about talking about your problems indefinitely. It’s about learning what to do differently — and actually doing it.
The Four Core Skill Areas of DBT
DBT is organized around four skill modules, each targeting a different area of life.
1. Mindfulness
This is the foundation of everything else in DBT. Mindfulness in DBT is not about meditation or spirituality — it’s about learning to observe what’s happening inside you without immediately reacting to it.
When you can pause between the trigger and the response, everything else becomes possible.
2. Distress Tolerance
Life comes with hard moments you can’t control. Distress tolerance skills help you get through those moments without making things worse.
This is for the times when you want to send the text you’ll regret, slam the door, or do something you know isn’t going to help — but the urge is overwhelming. DBT gives you concrete strategies to ride out the intensity without blowing things up.
3. Emotional Regulation
This is the heart of DBT for most people. Emotional regulation skills help you understand your emotions, reduce how long and intensely they affect you, and increase positive experiences over time.
If you’ve been told you’re “too sensitive” or “too reactive” your whole life — this is where DBT starts to change things.
4. Interpersonal Effectiveness
Relationships are hard. DBT’s interpersonal effectiveness skills teach you how to ask for what you need, say no without guilt, and maintain your self-respect — even in difficult conversations with difficult people.
This module is especially powerful for people who struggle with people-pleasing, conflict avoidance, or losing themselves in relationships.
Who Is DBT Therapy For?
DBT was originally developed for borderline personality disorder, but research has since demonstrated its effectiveness for a wide range of concerns. You might benefit from DBT if you experience:
- Intense or overwhelming emotions that feel hard to control
- Anxiety or depression that has not responded well to other approaches
- Chronic stress or burnout
- Relationship conflict, communication struggles, or patterns that keep repeating
- Difficulty saying no or setting boundaries
- Impulsive behaviors you want to change
- A history of trauma that affects how you regulate emotions today
You do not need a specific diagnosis to benefit from DBT. If you feel like your emotions run your life more than you run them — DBT was built for you.
What Does DBT Look Like in Online Counseling?
At Blue Elephant Counseling, DBT is delivered entirely online — which means you can access this evidence-based care from anywhere in Nebraska, including rural and frontier communities where in-person options are limited or nonexistent.
Online DBT sessions look a lot like traditional sessions — you meet with your counselor via secure video, work through skill modules, and practice applying them between sessions. Many clients find that working from their own home actually supports the process, because you’re practicing regulation in the same environment where you need it most.
Curious whether online counseling is really effective? The research says yes — and our clients say the same.
Meet Angie Marquardt: Blue Elephant Counseling’s DBT-Trained Counselor
If you’re considering DBT therapy in Nebraska, we want to introduce you to someone.
Angie Marquardt, pLMHP is a mental health counselor at Blue Elephant Counseling with over 20 years of behavioral health experience — and she has immediate openings for new clients.
Angie spent nearly two decades as a Program Supervisor with Region 3 Behavioral Health Services, managing complex cases and working directly with people navigating some of the hardest circumstances life can bring. She went on to complete her clinical internship at Richard Young Hospital, where she led DBT groups on an inpatient unit — gaining hands-on, structured DBT training in a clinical setting where these skills matter most.
She holds a Master of Science in Clinical Mental Health Counseling from the University of Nebraska Kearney, graduating with a 3.8 GPA.
Angie’s approach is warm and practical. She believes that people don’t need to be fixed — they need to be equipped. Her sessions combine the validation and support of good counseling with the skill-building structure that actually creates change.
She works with both adults and youth and has specific training in:
- Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT)
- Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)
- Motivational Interviewing
- Suicide risk assessment (AMSR, Columbia Suicide Severity Rating Scale)
- Trauma-informed care
- Crisis intervention
Angie accepts Blue Cross Blue Shield and Medicaid — and she has immediate openings.
All sessions are conducted online, serving Nebraska residents statewide.
Is DBT Right for You?
If you’ve been struggling with emotions that feel too big, relationships that keep breaking down, or stress that never fully lets up — DBT might be exactly what you’ve been looking for.
It won’t ask you to just talk about it. It will give you something to actually do about it.
At Blue Elephant Counseling, we believe real change comes from real skills. And we have a counselor ready to help you build them — right now, from wherever you are in Nebraska.
Book a free consultation with Angie today: blueelephantcounseling.com
No waitlist. Insurance accepted. 100% online. Let’s talk about the elephant in the room.
Frequently Asked Questions About DBT Therapy in Nebraska
What does DBT stand for? DBT stands for Dialectical Behavior Therapy. It is a structured, skills-based form of counseling developed to help people manage intense emotions, improve relationships, and build distress tolerance.
Is DBT therapy available online? Yes. Blue Elephant Counseling offers DBT therapy entirely online for Nebraska residents. Sessions are conducted via secure video and are available statewide, including rural and frontier communities.
Who is DBT therapy for? DBT is effective for people experiencing anxiety, depression, emotional dysregulation, relationship conflict, chronic stress, trauma responses, and burnout. You do not need a specific diagnosis to benefit from DBT skills.
How long does DBT therapy take? Traditional DBT programs run approximately six months to a year. At Blue Elephant Counseling, DBT skills are integrated into individual counseling sessions and adapted to each client’s goals and pace.
Does insurance cover DBT therapy in Nebraska? Blue Elephant Counseling accepts Blue Cross Blue Shield and Medicaid for DBT counseling with Angie Marquardt, pLMHP. Additional insurance plans are accepted by other providers at the practice.
How do I get started with DBT therapy at Blue Elephant Counseling? You can book a free consultation directly at blueelephantcounseling.com or call (308) 310-0878. Angie Marquardt currently has immediate openings and is accepting new clients.