When a person develops sufficiently powerful narratives about himself or the world, information that contradicts such narratives gets ignored while information that supports them acquires additional weight. If those narratives are negative enough, they can lead to psychological distress. Put simply, narrative therapists believe that the human mind not only interprets reality but also constructs it.

If a person is an adult who consistently struggles to maintain relationships across family, social, and professional life, there is likely something wrong. Or, more to the point, something he or she is doing that makes the relationships difficult to sustain. Let’s explore the personality traits and behaviors that commonly lead to the collapse of relationships.

DBT is developed for people who engage in harmful or dangerous behavior directed at themselves or others. The goal of DBT is to help the client come to terms with his or her painful emotions and understand that they will pass. DBT’s main principle is change through acceptance. The contradictory nature of this principle is reflected in DBT’s adoption of the term dialectical as part of its name.

CBT is based on the idea that maladaptive thought patterns lead to maladaptive emotions and behaviors, which, in turn, cause dysfunction in a person's life. This whole cognitive machine (the “C” in CBT) leads people to feel and behave (the “B”) a certain way. The role of therapy (the “T”), then, is to educate the client about the existence of said cognitive machine and help him or her reprogram it.