Intentional Outcomes Counselling
DBT Skills Training & DBT-Informed Therapy In Halifax
Learn practical DBT skills to regulate emotions and navigate challenges with confidence. Our DBT-informed approach integrates these tools into individual therapy so you can build lasting change. We serve Halifax, Bedford, Dartmouth, and Sackville, and we also offer online sessions across Nova Scotia.
When it feels like your emotions are controlling you, life can begin to feel overwhelming and unpredictable.
One moment you may feel fine, and the next a wave of anger, sadness, or anxiety can crash over you. These emotions can make it hard to think clearly or choose actions that reflect your values. However, this reaction is not a failure. It is a signal that you may need support to understand and regulate your emotions.
Over time, emotional dysregulation can affect your relationships, lower your confidence, and reduce your quality of life. However, with the right help, you can learn to manage your emotions and respond with greater calm and control.
DBT skills and DBT-informed therapy can give you the tools to regain a sense of control, build understanding, and build a life worth living.
DBT Skills & DBT-Informed Therapy Halifax
What Are DBT Skills & DBT-Informed Therapy?
DBT skills training is based on Dialectical Behaviour Therapy, an evidence-based approach that helps regulate intense emotions and reduce unhelpful behaviours. While full DBT includes several components such as group training, phone coaching, and consultation teams, our focus at Intentional Outcomes is on integrating practical DBT skills into individual therapy sessions.
DBT-informed therapy blends these powerful tools with personalised counselling to help you manage emotions and behaviours with clarity and purpose. Although it isn’t a quick fix, it offers a grounded, effective way to understand emotions, strengthen relationships, and handle life’s challenges with greater ease. Through this work, you can begin to build a calmer, more intentional life that aligns with what truly matters to you. DBT skills training focuses on four core areas designed to help you manage strong emotions, reduce harmful behaviours, and improve connection with others.
Who Can Benefit From DBT Skills?
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Intense Emotions -
Emotional Dysregulation
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Behavioural Challenges
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Trauma
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Relationship Conflicts
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ADHD
Who May Not Benefit From DBT Skills?
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Who are not ready to actively engage in skill-building or structured therapy
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Looking for quick fixes rather than long-term solutions
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With severe cognitive impairments that affect learning new skills
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Who are hesitant to explore their emotions
DBT Skills & DBT-Informed Therapy Halifax
What Can DBT Skills Help You With?
Navigate Overwhelming Emotions
When emotions feel too strong to manage, DBT skills offer tools to help you understand and regulate them. Using techniques like mindfulness and emotion regulation, you can learn to pause, reflect, and respond in healthier ways. Therapy also helps you notice emotional patterns and build confidence in managing them. Over time, you can regain control of your emotions instead of feeling controlled by them. With consistent practice, these skills create lasting change and greater emotional balance.
Build Healthier Relationships
Struggling with conflict or feeling misunderstood in relationships can leave you drained and discouraged. DBT interpersonal effectiveness skills can help you manage these challenges with confidence and respect. With practice, you’ll learn to balance your needs with those of others and communicate more clearly. These tools also help you set healthy boundaries and express yourself without fear or guilt. Over time, you can create connections that feel supportive, balanced, and genuinely meaningful.
Communicate Effectively And Set Boundaries
Healthy relationships start with clear communication and strong boundaries. DBT skills teach you how to express your feelings and needs with confidence while reducing guilt and conflict. You’ll also learn practical ways to say “no” when needed and ask for what you truly want. Over time, these tools help you create balanced, respectful, and supportive connections with others. With steady practice, you can build relationships that feel safe, mutual, and fulfilling.
Understand And Change Patterns Of Behaviour
Breaking free from patterns that no longer serve you can feel challenging. Behaviours like impulsive actions or self-sabotage often keep you stuck. DBT-informed therapy helps you notice these patterns, understand what drives them, and replace them with choices that match your values. You’ll also learn to make decisions that support balance, growth, and self-respect. Over time, small intentional changes lead to meaningful and lasting transformation.
Create A More Balanced And Fulfilling Life
Feeling stuck or overwhelmed can make it hard to see the next step forward. DBT skills offer practical tools to help you manage challenges and find balance. This approach also helps you focus on what truly matters so you can build a grounded, purposeful life. Over time, you’ll develop more resilience, fulfilment, and a steady sense of inner peace. With support and practice, change becomes both possible and sustainable.
Emotions are real, but they don’t have to run your life.
DBT Skills & DBT-Informed Therapy Halifax
Our Approach To DBT-Informed Therapy
We Connect
Through the process of taking the time to understand you—your challenges, your goals, we create a safe and judgment-free space where you can explore, heal, and grow with confidence.
We Listen
Together, we identify your goals—whether it’s navigating emotions, breaking unhealthy patterns, or improving relationships—and tailor the process to your needs.
We Help
Robyn Jackman, Owner
Masters of Social Work, Registered Social Worker
Trained in CBT, DBT, ACT, MI, EMDR, NLP, & Hypnosis
Why work with Intentional Outcomes?
No one should have to go through life’s difficulties alone.
We can help.
With over 25 years of combined experience, our team is ready to help you take the next step. We use a simple, compassionate approach to get to know you as a person and understand your struggles, values, and goals. Through this process, we offer the insight and support you need to find clarity, build confidence, and move forward with purpose.
DBT-informed Therapists In Halifax
Finding The Right DBT Therapist For You
Our Approach To DBT-Informed Therapy
Questions About DBT Skills & DBT-Informed Therapy
What exactly is DBT-informed therapy, and how does it differ from comprehensive DBT?
DBT-informed therapy integrates the core skills and principles of Dialectical Behaviour Therapy into personalised counselling sessions. Unlike full DBT programs, which include group training, phone coaching, and consultation teams, our approach focuses on teaching practical, evidence-based skills within your individual sessions.
DBT-informed therapy combines the core principles of Dialectical Behaviour Therapy with personalized counselling sessions. Unlike full DBT programs that include group work, phone coaching, and consultation teams, this approach focuses on practical, evidence-based skills within your one-on-one sessions.
These skills include mindfulness to stay present, distress tolerance to handle difficult moments, emotion regulation to manage feelings, and interpersonal effectiveness to build healthy relationships. Through this process, you’ll learn to manage emotions with ease, make intentional choices, and strengthen your connections. Over time, DBT-informed therapy helps you create lasting change within a supportive and flexible framework that fits your unique needs.
Who can benefit from DBT skills and DBT-informed therapy?
DBT skills were originally developed for people who experience overwhelming emotions and find it difficult to manage them, especially those with borderline personality disorder (BPD). However, these same skills are also highly effective for individuals coping with intense emotions, PTSD, depression, anxiety, anger issues, or impulsive behaviours related to ADHD. If you often feel like your emotions take over, act impulsively when upset, or struggle to maintain healthy relationships, DBT skills may be a great fit for you. In addition, our DBT-informed approach focuses on helping you find balance and regain control by integrating practical, evidence-based skills into individual therapy. Over time, this process can help you build emotional resilience, strengthen relationships, and live with greater calm and confidence. Book a consult or session to find out more.
What is the difference between DBT-informed therapy and other types of therapy, like CBT?
What happens during a typical DBT-informed therapy session?
In our DBT-informed therapy sessions, you’ll work one-on-one with your therapist to address your specific challenges and goals. Together, you’ll learn and apply DBT skills such as mindfulness, emotion regulation, distress tolerance, and interpersonal effectiveness in ways that fit your unique situation. Each session typically involves discussing recent challenges, reflecting on how you’ve used DBT skills in daily life, and learning new strategies as needed. In addition, you’ll set practical goals to help you continue building progress between sessions. Unlike full DBT programs that include separate group training, our approach integrates skill-building directly into your individual therapy. Over time, this creates a more flexible, personalized, and supportive therapy experience that promotes steady growth and real change.
Can DBT skills be used alongside other forms of therapy or treatment?
Yes! DBT skills integrate well with other therapies and treatments. They can complement approaches like CBT, trauma therapy, or mindfulness-based methods by adding practical tools to manage emotions and behaviours effectively. For example, while another therapy may help you process deeper emotional issues, DBT skills provide everyday techniques for handling stress and challenges. In addition, these skills strengthen your ability to stay grounded and respond to situations with greater awareness and control. Over time, DBT becomes a valuable addition to many treatment plans, helping you feel more confident, resilient, and balanced in daily life.
DBT Skills & DBT-Informed Therapy Halifax
Positive Outcomes Of DBT Skills & DBT-Informed Therapy
Every person’s situation is unique, so it’s hard to predict exactly how long it will take to see results. However, with steady commitment and openness to the process, you can begin to notice meaningful improvements over time. These positive changes may include:
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Better control over overwhelming emotions -
Improved ability to handle stressful situations without impulsive reactions
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Stronger, healthier relationships through better communication and boundaries
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Increased self-awareness and understanding of emotional patterns
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A greater sense of balance and stability in your daily life
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Practical tools to navigate challenges and crises
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More confidence in your ability to create a meaningful and fulfilling life
Better control over emotions helps you think clearly, and respond with balance and confidence.
Improved ability to handle stress helps you pause, think clearly, and respond calmly instead of reacting impulsively.
Stronger, healthier relationships grow through clear communication, mutual respect, and firm, compassionate boundaries.
Increased self-awareness helps you recognize patterns and understand how they shape your thoughts, actions, and relationships.
A greater sense of balance helps you feel grounded, focused, and more stable in your daily life.
Practical tools help you navigate challenges and crises with clarity, confidence, and emotional control.
More confidence helps you take intentional action and build a life that feels meaningful, balanced, and fulfilling.
How Do You Get Started?
Book a call and let us know how we can help. You can use the button below to book an appointment or free consultation directly online.
Have A Few Questions?
Send us a message!
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DBT Skills Training & DBT-Informed Therapy In Halifax
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