title: Radically Open-Dialectical Behavior Therapy for Disorders of Over-Control: Signaling Matters.
abstract: Radically Open-Dialectical Behavior Therapy (RO-DBT) is a transdiagnostic treatment designed to address a spectrum of difficult-to-treat disorders sharing similar phenotypic and genotypic features associated with maladaptive over-control-such as anorexia nervosa, chronic depression, and obsessive compulsive personality disorder. Over-control has been linked to social isolation, aloof and distant relationships, cognitive rigidity, high detailedfocused processing, risk aversion, strong needs for structure, inhibited emotional expression, and hyper-perfectionism. While resting on the dialectical underpinnings of standard DBT, the therapeutic strategies, core skills, and theoretical perspectives in RO-DBT often substantially differ. For example, RO-DBT contends that emotional loneliness secondary to low openness and social-signaling deficits represents the core problem of over-control, not emotion dysregulation. RO-DBT also significantly differs from other treatment approaches, most notably by linking the communicative functions of emotional expression to the formation of close social bonds and via skills targeting social-signaling and changing neurophysiological arousal. The aim of this paper is to provide a brief overview of the core theoretical principles and unique treatment strategies underlying RO-DBT.
authors.affiliation: School of Psychology, University of Southampton, Highfield Campus, Southampton, UK.
authors.forename: Thomas R
authors.initials: TR
authors.lastname: Lynch
authors.forename: Roelie J
authors.initials: RJ
authors.lastname: Hempel
authors.forename: Christine
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Dunkley
mesh_terms: D000856:Anorexia Nervosa / Q000150:complications / Q000523:psychology / Q000628:therapy; D032763:Behavior Control / Q000379:methods / Q000523:psychology; D015928:Cognitive Behavioral Therapy / Q000379:methods*; D003193:Compulsive Personality Disorder / Q000150:complications / Q000523:psychology / Q000628:therapy; D003863:Depression / Q000150:complications / Q000523:psychology / Q000628:therapy; D019260:Expressed Emotion; D006801:Humans; D007398:Interpersonal Relations; D012917:Social Adjustment; D012934:Social Isolation / Q000523:psychology*