Going where angels fear to tread.
Marha Linehan
Going where angels fear to tread was how DBT (Dialectical Behavioral Therapy) was first described to me in my training at the beginning of my own DBT journey. It made me take pause because up to that point I had never thought my therapy could be something like Dr. Marsha Linehan (the creator of DBT) envisioned. She thought of therapy being both something comforting and something that would (safely) push both the client and therapist into therapeutic discomfort.
DBT pulls away from the comfort in having absolute truth (what some call black-and-white thinking). As I’ve come to learn, life is much more complicated than that— we exist in a multitude of shades of gray. We are all made of contradicting ideas and feelings. We all exist in relationships in which there can be a coexistence of views that seemingly won’t fit. We (and the whole world really) simply can’t fit into any one box.
With that in mind, Dr. Linehan envisioned therapy moving in many directions at once. DBT is all about validating the pain we’ve been through (and continue to experience), while also pushing us towards change. DBT teaches us skills to better navigate the world around and within us. DBT gives us the opportunity to build an open, honest, and sometimes challenging relationship with the therapist, so we can build healthy relationships outside of therapy. DBT strengthens us to be able to sit with the pain of our own lives, so we can accept what we must and change what we can.
Having done DBT since 2020, I’ve worked with many teens and adults in finding this sort of balance in their lives. DBT was originally created for women with borderline personality disorder (BPD), but I, like other DBT therapists, work with folks of all walks of life with a variety of diagnoses (including PTSD, depression, anxiety, bipolar disorder, chronic suicidality, etc).
I find particular interest in using DBT with clients who are learning to accept and love their gender and sexual identities and are processing any past trauma that may come with this journey. As a member of the Piedmont Care Board of Directors, I also have a passion for the treatment and prevention of HIV in our community.
In my free time, I love watching Marvel movies/ TV shows, hiking, photography, cooking, and collecting vinyl records. Outside of the therapy room, you’re most likely to catch me in a state park, in Target, at Cava, or at a concert (Taylor Swift, Stevie Nicks, Green Day, and Rainbow Kitten Surprise being some of my favorites).f
Note: Jordan is a member of the Greenville DBT Collective. Contact the DBT Collective at (864) 501-4098