Emotional Regulation Skills: DBT and EFT Perspectives

Emotional Regulation Skills: DBT and EFT Perspectives

Emotional regulation is important to maintaining mental health and emotional well-being. Whether you’re going through a difficult moment or just trying to improve your emotional awareness, understanding how to regulate your emotions can help prevent escalation and support a balanced life. Two powerful approaches in this area are Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) and Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT), and both offer practical tools to help you manage intense feelings.

One tool that I often share with clients is the emotional scale. It’s a simple yet effective way to track your feelings, evaluate their intensity, and decide how to respond.

Understanding the Emotional Scale

Imagine your emotions on a scale from 0 to 10:

• 0: The emotion is so minimal that you might not even notice it.
• 1 to 6: At these levels, you’re feeling the emotion, but it’s still manageable. This is the best time to observe why the emotion surfaced, assess any risks, and take mindful action. This is where DBT’s mindfulness skills and distress tolerance techniques come into play. You can practice observing without judgment and use tools like grounding techniques to prevent escalation.
• 7, 8, 9: At this point, your emotions are becoming more intense and harder to manage. This is when you need to actively use emotional regulation strategies—whether it’s deep breathing, journaling, or reaching out for social support. Here, EFT’s focus on relationships and emotional connection is particularly useful. Sharing your feelings with a trusted person, acknowledging your needs, or even talking with a therapist can provide the relief and perspective needed.
• 10: At this level, emotions may feel overwhelming and out of control. This is the point where you need urgent help, and hospital assistance may be necessary to keep you safe. DBT’s crisis survival skills are especially helpful here to ensure safety while calming the storm.

Integrating DBT and EFT for Emotional Regulation

Both DBT and EFT help us navigate emotions, but they do so in complementary ways. DBT is skill-based, focusing on mindfulness, distress tolerance, emotional regulation, and interpersonal effectiveness. It gives you practical, step-by-step methods to handle overwhelming emotions in the moment.

EFT, on the other hand, emphasizes the importance of emotional bonds and relationships. It’s about understanding your emotional experience in the context of your connections with others and how your emotions reflect your deeper needs and vulnerabilities.

When you combine the emotional scale with these two approaches, you gain a powerful toolkit for emotional regulation:

• Mindfulness (DBT): Use this to stay present and aware, especially when your emotions are in the 1 to 6 range. You can recognize what’s happening internally before the emotion escalates.
• Distress Tolerance (DBT): When emotions are at 7, 8, or 9, this is your go-to. You can use strategies like breathing exercises, distraction, or self-soothing to navigate through the emotion without making it worse.
• Relationship Building (EFT): At any point on the scale, reaching out to loved ones, sharing your feelings, and seeking support can prevent emotions from intensifying and help you feel connected and understood.
• Crisis Survival (DBT): If you ever find yourself at 10, DBT’s crisis survival skills can guide you through the moment safely, ensuring you get the help you need.

A Daily Practice

Take a moment now—where are you on the emotional scale today? Label your emotions, note their intensity, and consider which tools you can use to manage them. Remember that emotional regulation is not about avoiding or suppressing emotions. It’s about understanding them and responding in ways that help you maintain balance and well-being.

If you notice you’re often in the 7, 8, or 9 range, it might be time to explore additional support, whether through social connections or professional help.

Feel free to reach out if you need guidance on your emotional regulation journey. Together, we can work through these moments, one step at a time.

Samara Tomaz Araujo Damasceno

Registered Psychotherapist (Qualifying) at College of Registered Psychotherapists of Ontario – 16111

Professional Member ID at Canadian Counselling and Psychotherapist Association – 11248350