Marsha M. Linehan | |
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Born | Tulsa, Oklahoma, United States | May 5, 1943
Alma mater | Loyola University Chicago |
Occupation(s) | Creator of dialectical behavior therapy, psychologist, professor, author |
Children | 1 |
Website |
Marsha M. Linehan (born May 5, 1943) is an American psychologist and author. She is the creator of dialectical behavior therapy (DBT), a type of psychotherapy that combines cognitive restructuring with acceptance, mindfulness, and shaping.
Linehan is an Emeritus Professor of Psychology, Adjunct Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at the University of Washington in Seattle and Director of the Behavioral Research and Therapy Clinics. [1] Her primary research is in borderline personality disorder, the application of behavioral models to suicidal behaviors, and drug abuse. Allen Frances, in the foreword for Linehan's book Building a Life Worth Living, said Linehan is one of the two most influential "clinical innovators" in mental health, the other being Aaron Beck.
Linehan was born in Tulsa, Oklahoma on May 5, 1943, being the third of six children. She was diagnosed with schizophrenia at the Institute of Living in Hartford, Connecticut where she was an inpatient. Linehan was subjected to electroconvulsive therapy, seclusion, as well as Thorazine and Librium as treatment. [2] During this time she dealt with suicidal behavior and although not diagnosed, she has said that she feels that she actually had borderline personality disorder. [2] The symptoms she experienced then are similar to today's diagnostic criteria for borderline personality disorder. In a 2011 interview with The New York Times , Linehan said that she "does not remember" taking any psychiatric medication after leaving the Institute of Living when she was 18 years old. [2] : 3
Linehan graduated cum laude from Loyola University Chicago in 1968 with a B.Sc. in psychology. She earned an M.A. in 1970 and a Ph.D. in 1971, in social and experimental personality psychology. [2] During her time at Loyola University, Linehan served as lecturer for the psychology program. In addition to her work in psychology, Linehan was trained in Zen meditation and became a Zen teacher. [3]
After leaving Loyola University, Linehan started a post doctoral internship at The Suicide Prevention and Crisis Service in Buffalo, New York between 1971 and 1972. During this time, Linehan served as an adjunct assistant professor at University at Buffalo, The State University of New York. From Buffalo, Linehan completed a Post-Doctoral fellowship in behavior modification at Stony Brook University. Linehan then returned to her alma mater Loyola University in 1973 and served as an adjunct professor at the university until 1975. During this same time Linehan also served as an assistant professor in psychology at the Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C. from 1973 to 1977.
In 1977, Linehan took a position at the University of Washington as an adjunct assistant professor in the Psychiatry and Behavior Sciences department. Linehan is now a professor of psychology and a professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at the University of Washington and Director of the Behavioral Research and Therapy Clinics. [1]
Linehan is the past-president of the Association for the Advancement of Behavior Therapy as well as of the Society of Clinical Psychology Division 12 American Psychological Association, a fellow of both the American Psychological Association and the American Psychopathological Association and a diplomate of the American Board of Behavioral Psychology. She is also the founder of the Suicide Strategic Planning Group, the DBT Strategic Planning Group, Behavioral Tech LLC and Behavioral Tech Research Inc. [4]
Linehan developed dialectical behavior therapy (DBT) – a variation of traditional cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) with elements of acceptance and mindfulness, as a result of her own mental illness. [5] In 1967, while she prayed in a small Catholic chapel in Chicago, she said:
One night I was kneeling in there, looking up at the cross, and the whole place became gold – and suddenly I felt something coming toward me ... It was this shimmering experience, and I just ran back to my room and said, 'I love myself.' It was the first time I remembered talking to myself in the first person. I felt transformed. [2]
Through her work, Linehan realized the importance of two concepts in mental health. One of these was that to achieve meaningful and happy lives, people must learn to accept things as they are. The other was that change is necessary for growth and happiness. These two concepts are the foundation of her therapy, DBT. DBT is used for treatment of borderline personality disorder (BPD), which is characterized by suicidal behavior. Along with treatment of BPD, it has also been used to treat other disorders such as eating and substance abuse disorders. DBT uses a multitude of techniques such as behavioral therapy, strategies that improve coping and regulation of emotion, and mindfulness skills. The significance of DBT is apparent as it is the only treatment shown to be effective in reducing suicidal behavior. More personally, it is significant to Linehan because of her own early struggles with mental health. [3]
Linehan has earned several awards for her research and clinical work, including the Louis Israel Dublin award for Lifetime Achievement in the Field of Suicide in 1999, the Distinguished Research in Suicide Award from the American Foundation of Suicide Prevention, creation of the Marsha Linehan Award for Outstanding Research in the Treatment of Suicidal Behavior presented by the American Association of Suicidology, the Distinguished Scientist Award from the Society for a Science of Clinical Psychology, the Distinguished Scientific Contributions to Clinical psychology award by the Society of Clinical Psychology, awards for Distinguished Contributions to the Practice of Psychology and Distinguished Contributions for Clinical activities [3] as well as The Outstanding Educator Award for Mental Health Education from the New England Educational Institute in 2004, and Career Achievement Award from the American Psychological Association in 2005.
Linehan has authored and co-authored many books, including two treatment manuals: Cognitive-Behavioral Treatment for Borderline Personality Disorder and Skills Training Manual for Treating Borderline Personality Disorder. She published a memoir about her life and the creation of dialectical behavior therapy Building a Life Worth Living: A Memoir in 2020. [6] She has also published extensively in scientific journals, some of which include research on suicidal behavior such as the article "Modeling the suicidal behavior cycle: Understanding repeated suicide attempts among individuals with borderline personality disorder and a history of attempting suicide" while others contribute to her work on DBT like, "Behavioral assessment in DBT: Commentary on the special series". [7] [8] [9]
Linehan is unmarried and lives with her adult adopted Peruvian daughter Geraldine "Geri" and her son-in-law Nate in Seattle, Washington. [2] : 3 [10] [11]
Linehan is a long-time Roman Catholic and reports that she is involved in such practices as meditation that she was taught by Roman Catholic priests, including her Zen teacher Willigis Jäger. [12] [lower-alpha 1]
Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) is a form of psychotherapy that aims to reduce symptoms of various mental health conditions, primarily depression and anxiety disorders. Cognitive behavioral therapy focuses on challenging and changing cognitive distortions and their associated behaviors to improve emotional regulation and develop personal coping strategies that target solving current problems. Though it was originally designed to treat depression, its uses have been expanded to include many issues and the treatment of many mental health and other conditions, including anxiety, substance use disorders, marital problems, ADHD, and eating disorders. CBT includes a number of cognitive or behavioral psychotherapies that treat defined psychopathologies using evidence-based techniques and strategies.
Borderline personality disorder (BPD), also known as emotionally unstable personality disorder (EUPD), is a personality disorder characterized by a pervasive, long-term pattern of significant interpersonal relationship instability, a distorted sense of self, and intense emotional responses. Individuals diagnosed with BPD frequently exhibit self-harming behaviours and engage in risky activities, primarily due to challenges in regulating emotional states to a healthy, stable baseline. Symptoms such as dissociation, a pervasive sense of emptiness, and an acute fear of abandonment are prevalent among those affected.
Dialectical behavior therapy (DBT) is an evidence-based psychotherapy that began with efforts to treat personality disorders and interpersonal conflicts. Evidence suggests that DBT can be useful in treating mood disorders and suicidal ideation as well as for changing behavioral patterns such as self-harm and substance use. DBT evolved into a process in which the therapist and client work with acceptance and change-oriented strategies and ultimately balance and synthesize them—comparable to the philosophical dialectical process of thesis and antithesis, followed by synthesis.
Cognitive restructuring (CR) is a psychotherapeutic process of learning to identify and dispute irrational or maladaptive thoughts known as cognitive distortions, such as all-or-nothing thinking (splitting), magical thinking, overgeneralization, magnification, and emotional reasoning, which are commonly associated with many mental health disorders. CR employs many strategies, such as Socratic questioning, thought recording, and guided imagery, and is used in many types of therapies, including cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) and rational emotive behaviour therapy (REBT). A number of studies demonstrate considerable efficacy in using CR-based therapies.
Mindfulness is the cognitive skill, usually developed through meditation, of sustaining meta-attention on the contents of one's own mind in the present moment. Mindfulness derives from sati, a significant element of Hindu and Buddhist traditions, and is based on Zen, Vipassanā, and Tibetan meditation techniques. Though definitions and techniques of mindfulness are wide-ranging, Buddhist traditions describe what constitutes mindfulness, such as how perceptions of the past, present and future arise and cease as momentary sense-impressions and mental phenomena. Individuals who have contributed to the popularity of mindfulness in the modern Western context include Thích Nhất Hạnh, Joseph Goldstein, Herbert Benson, Jon Kabat-Zinn, and Richard J. Davidson.
Suicide intervention is a direct effort to prevent a person or persons from attempting to take their own life or lives intentionally.
Emotional dysregulation is characterized by an inability flexibly to respond to and manage emotional states, resulting in intense and prolonged emotional reactions that deviate from social norms, given the nature of the environmental stimuli encountered. Such reactions not only deviate from accepted social norms but also surpass what is informally deemed appropriate or proportional to the encountered stimuli.
Biosocial theory is a theory in behavioral and social science that describes personality disorders and mental illnesses and disabilities as biologically-determined personality traits reacting to environmental stimuli.
Buddhism includes an analysis of human psychology, emotion, cognition, behavior and motivation along with therapeutic practices. Buddhist psychology is embedded within the greater Buddhist ethical and philosophical system, and its psychological terminology is colored by ethical overtones. Buddhist psychology has two therapeutic goals: the healthy and virtuous life of a householder and the ultimate goal of nirvana, the total cessation of dissatisfaction and suffering (dukkha).
Therapy interfering behaviors or "TIBs" are, according to dialectical behavior therapy (DBT), things that get in the way of therapy. These are behaviors of either the patient or the therapist. More obvious examples include being late to sessions, not completing homework, cancelling sessions, and frequently contacting the therapist out-of-session. More subtle examples can include sobbing uncontrollably, venting, criticizing the therapist, threatening to quit therapy, shutting down, yelling, only reporting negative information, saying "I don't know" repeatedly, and pushing the therapist's limits. Behaviors that "burn out the therapist" are included, and thus, vary from therapist to therapist. These behaviors can occur in session, group, between sessions, and on the phone.
Eastern philosophy in clinical psychology refers to the influence of Eastern philosophies on the practice of clinical psychology.
Mentalization-based treatment (MBT) is an integrative form of psychotherapy, bringing together aspects of psychodynamic, cognitive-behavioral, systemic and ecological approaches. MBT was developed and manualised by Peter Fonagy and Anthony Bateman, designed for individuals with borderline personality disorder (BPD). Some of these individuals suffer from disorganized attachment and failed to develop a robust mentalization capacity. Fonagy and Bateman define mentalization as the process by which we implicitly and explicitly interpret the actions of oneself and others as meaningful on the basis of intentional mental states. An alternative and simpler definition is "Seeing others from the inside and ourselves from the outside." The object of treatment is that patients with BPD increase their mentalization capacity, which should improve affect regulation, thereby reducing suicidality and self-harm, as well as strengthening interpersonal relationships.
Transference focused psychotherapy (TFP) is a highly structured, twice-weekly modified psychodynamic treatment based on Otto F. Kernberg's object relations model of borderline personality disorder (BPD). It views the individual with borderline personality organization (BPO) as holding unreconciled and contradictory internalized representations of self and significant others that are affectively charged. The defense against these contradictory internalized object relations leads to disturbed relationships with others and with self. The distorted perceptions of self, others, and associated affects are the focus of treatment as they emerge in the relationship with the therapist (transference). The treatment focuses on the integration of split-off parts of self and object representations, and the consistent interpretation of these distorted perceptions is considered the mechanism of change.
Self-embedding is the insertion of foreign objects either into soft tissues under the skin or into muscle. Self-embedding is typically considered deliberate self-harm, also known as nonsuicidal self-injury, which is defined as "deliberate, direct destruction of tissues without suicidal intent."
Eating recovery refers to the full spectrum of care that acknowledges and treats the multiple etiologies of anorexia nervosa and bulimia, including the biological, psychological, social and emotional causes of the disorder, through a comprehensive, integrated treatment regimen. When successful, this regimen restores the individual to a healthy weight and arms them with the skills and resources needed to maintain a sustainable recovery. Although there are a variety of treatment options available to the eating disorders patient, the intensive and multi-faceted program followed in eating recovery is the appropriate option for individuals who require intensive support and are able to commit to treatment in an inpatient, residential or full-day hospital setting.
Jack A. Apsche was an American psychologist who has focused his work on adolescents with behavior problems. Apsche was also an author, artist, presenter, consultant and lecturer.
The mainstay of management of borderline personality disorder is various forms of psychotherapy with medications being found to be of little use.
Cognitive emotional behavioral therapy (CEBT) is an extended version of cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) aimed at helping individuals to evaluate the basis of their emotional distress and thus reduce the need for associated dysfunctional coping behaviors. This psychotherapeutic intervention draws on a range of models and techniques including dialectical behavior therapy (DBT), mindfulness meditation, acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT), and experiential exercises.
Distress tolerance is an emerging construct in psychology that has been conceptualized in several different ways. Broadly, however, it refers to an individual's "perceived capacity to withstand negative emotional and/or other aversive states, and the behavioral act of withstanding distressing internal states elicited by some type of stressor." Some definitions of distress tolerance have also specified that the endurance of these negative events occur in contexts in which methods to escape the distressor exist.
Thomas R. Lynch is an American psychologist, author, and treatment developer of radically open dialectical behavior therapy, a type of psychotherapy that targets disorders characterized by excessive self-control. He is an Emeritus Professor of Clinical Psychology at the University of Southampton in Southampton, United Kingdom.