The Foreign & Mystical Land of Wise Mind

Hello! Thank you so much for taking a few minutes to read my first ever blog post! I am so excited to share my thoughts about using Dialectical Behavior Therapy in *real life* on this blog. I have been using DBT in group and individual settings for the past 7 years and am so incredibly inspired by the behavior change I've seen in my clients. I also use DBT in my own life and will share examples of what everyday skill use looks like for me.

Our first stop is Wise Mind! When I thought of the the ultimate goal for clients in my practice, I immediately thought of Wise Mind as it is the 'north star' of Dialectical Behavior Therapy. DBT teaches us that Wise Mind is the combination of Emotional Mind and Logical Mind. It is that reminder that emotions cannot exist on their own yet we cannot only see logic. It is the delicate balance between passion and thinking things through. It is that voice in your head telling you to slow down and not be impulsive.

You may be thinking that Wise Mind sounds like a foreign land found only those who spend hours meditating or have total control over their emotions. That is the typical reaction when I teach Wise Mind in group! The goal of being able to climb out of emotional mind and see the sunlight of logic is often a common goal for those coming to DBT.

Wise Mind is also our introduction in DBT to the power of 'AND' in our lives. For my black & white thinking friends out there, that may make you quite uncomfortable. But to find Wise Mind, we need both emotions AND logic. When we look towards only one side, we are totally missing the other half and that tends to get us in trouble! We must have both in order to truly be aligned with reality.

The mission of Wise Mind Counseling is to walk with you as you find the foreign & mystical land of Wise Mind and teach you the skills needed to stay there.