Create a Life Worth Living - Marriage and Family Therapy

Send us Fan MailIn this episode of Now Serving Therapy, host Dalton Huckabe sits down with licensed marriage and family therapist Dena Castrio, owner of Good Roots Psychotherapy, to break down Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT) in a way that actually makes sense in real life.Together, they explore how DBT helps individuals manage overwhelming emotions, reduce stress, and make more balanced decisions using what’s known as “Wise Mind.”Dena shares the foundation of DBT, originally developed by Marsha Linehan, and explains how it builds on Cognitive Behavioral Therapy by incorporating mindfulness and emotional awareness. The conversation walks through the internal tug-of-war between emotional thinking and logical thinking—and how learning to integrate both leads to more grounded, effective decision-making.This episode also introduces simple, practical DBT tools you can start using immediately. Dena explains concepts like the “French Fry Paradigm,” which shows how we constantly weigh emotional and logical input in everyday decisions, often without realizing it.You’ll also learn quick, accessible strategies to regulate your nervous system during moments of stress, anxiety, or panic. These include DBT-informed “TIP” skills such as using cold temperature to calm the body and engaging the senses with intense taste to shift mental focus.Whether you struggle with anxiety, emotional overwhelm, or just want better tools to navigate daily life, this episode offers practical insights you can apply right away.Stay tuned for Part 2, where Dalton and Dena will dive deeper into DBT skills like acting opposite to emotion, building mindfulness practices, and using SMART goals for lasting change. Support the show