Dialectical Behavior Therapy and the COVID-19 Pandemic: Building a Life Worth Living in the Face of an Unrelenting Crisis

Ellberger, Madelaine

The COVID-19 global pandemic has drastically altered the way in which the world operates and human beings interact. The COVID-19 pandemic has affected the bodies, finances, minds, and souls of every individual in more ways than one. People all over the world are feeling the impact of the increase of these stressors, with the psychological impact being potentially as great as the physical. Prior to the onset of this global pandemic, suicide was already considered a major public health problem (World Health Organization, Suicide. Retrieved from https://www.who.int/newsroom/fact-sheets/detail/suicide, 2018). This chapter will offer a reflection on the experience of providing dialectical behavior therapy (DBT) during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. An overview of DBT will be provided in order to highlight the impact of the pandemic on the provider, the patient, and implementation of the treatment itself. Obstacles and adaptations to treatment will be presented through the lens of the four components of DBT by way of narrative and clinical case examples.