Using Somatic Therapy to Support DBT in the Therapy Room

DBT offers powerful, life-changing skills — mindfulness, distress tolerance, emotion regulation, and interpersonal effectiveness — but for many clients, there’s a catch:

“I know the skill… but I can’t use it when I need it most.”

As a therapist, I’ve heard this again and again. And I believe them. Not because the skill isn’t effective — but because the nervous system needs to feel safe enough to use it.