Biosocial Theory

When thinking about the differing coping styles we often engage in and which way we may lean, it’s important to talk about how they tend to develop. For both DBT and RO-DBT treatments the idea is similar in concept:

We are all born with a level of sensitivity that impacts how we process the world around us which influences how we regulate ourselves.

So if you experience emotions intensely and perceive the way the people around you react/respond to your expression as bad, wrong or not okay then you learn to try and cope with that to prevent from feeling that way again. Let me give you an example:

Erika was born as a sensitive child and early on in her childhood learned quickly from her environment that if you cried you were punished (i.e. being ignored, told “it’s okay there’s nothing to cry about,” “I’ll give you something to cry about,” etc.) so in order to prevent the painful feelings of rejection from happening she learned to engage in some coping styles to stop from experiencing that from her environment (because she wasn’t taught how to handle her emotions so she learned how to influence the environment instead). This could be going flat faced, going quiet, distracting, getting angry/reactive, self harming/suicide, self medicating, drinking, ruminating in her head about the interaction and what she would’ve/could’ve/should’ve said, etc.

Depending on how she copes and which coping methods she mostly engages in, this could identify whether she leans under-controlled or over-controlled with her coping styles. And understanding this is how we structure the treatment to her needs!