STEPHEN M. BOOTH - Therapist - Has a bachelors degree in psychiatric nursing and has been providing one to one therapy for over 20 years. He was trained in Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT) when he was a therapist on the DBT team in Calgary in 2001 and has been providing therapy to clients with extreme emotional problems ever since. 25 years as a psychiatric nurse in a variety of clinical and hospital settings has allowed him to gain a large compliment of therapeutic skills which he brings to the therapy sessions. As well he has an extensive knowledge of medications used to treat mental illnesses and can monitor for effectiveness and side effects as part of ongoing treatment. His life experience helps him to assist clients in viewing their issues from a different point of view and discover new means of solving or coping with them that they hadn't previously considered.

DIALECTICAL BEHAVIORAL THERAPY is a well researched therapy designed to assist people experiencing extremes of emotion and suicidal or self harming behaviors. It has been successfully adapted to assist in substance abuse, eating disorders and highly volatile adolescent / parent relationships.

CHARACTERISTICS OF DBT THERAPISTS AND PERSONS WHO WORK BEST WITH HIGHLY EMOTIONAL CLIENTS:

• Comfortable with the ambiguity and paradox inherent in the DBT strategies
• Holds a stance of acceptance (validation) and expectation for change
• Finds the ‘inherent wisdom’ and ‘goodness’ in the moment and the person
• Unwavering centeredness
• Compassionate flexibility
• Observes limits, while flexibly changing, adapting and ‘giving in’, as the situation requires
• Nurtures with “benevolent demandingness”
• Stays certain on select principles while “stepping into the storm”
• Able to be appropriately transparent, yet not becoming a ‘friend or sole provider’
• Aware of their vulnerable times and uses support
• ‘Joins’ with another yet remains centered in themselves
• Tolerates dependency yet expects ‘the client will do what they want to do’
• Acts as the clients “backbone” while making them use their own
• Has a “Teflon skin”
• Holds unbelievable faith in the clients ‘worth’ and capacity to change, despite the high odds against
• Believes that the future will be better and there is “HOPE IN HELL" (Linehan, 1993)