Questions? Suffolk DBT Roslyn (516) 714-4707 | Babylon Suffolk DBT (631) 403-4719 | Mt. Sinai (631) 828-2264 | NYC (646) 939-5210
Questions? Suffolk DBT Roslyn (516) 714-4707 | Babylon Suffolk DBT (631) 403-4719 | Mt. Sinai (631) 828-2264 | NYC (646) 939-5210
Living with bipolar disorder can mean learning to recognize patterns that are not always obvious in the moment. Changes in sleep, energy, activity, mood, medication routines, relationships, and daily habits may begin before someone fully realizes that things are shifting.
At Suffolk DBT, treatment helps kids, teens, and adults become more aware of these patterns and develop concrete strategies for responding to them.
Through individual therapy, DBT skills training, diary cards, and between-session phone coaching, clients learn to pay closer attention to the factors that support stability—as well as the early warning signs that something may be changing.
For someone with bipolar disorder, this may include monitoring sleep and energy, noticing changes in mood or activity, staying consistent with prescribed medication, identifying behaviors that tend to occur during periods of depression or elevated mood, and using skills before problems become more difficult to manage.
DBT does not replace psychiatric care or medication when these are indicated. Instead, it can provide a structured behavioral framework for helping clients understand their patterns, follow through with treatment, manage difficult emotions, and build a life that remains meaningful even when their mood changes.
Bipolar disorder (also not to be confused with Borderline Personality Disorder) isn’t one single diagnosis—it’s an umbrella term for a group of related mood disorders. These conditions share patterns of intense highs and lows but differ in how long episodes last, how severe they become, and how they impact daily functioning.
The main categories include:
Bipolar disorder can develop in adolescence or adulthood, and it often requires ongoing treatment and support.
Common Mood Disorders
Depression
Persistent depression
Bipolar disorder
Cyclothymic disorder
Premenstrual dysphoric disorder
Severe mood dysregulation in children and teens
Mood changes related to medical conditions or medications
It’s a common misconception to think of bipolar disorder as simply being “moody” or “up and down.” In reality, bipolar disorder involves distinct episodes of depression, mania, or hypomania that last for days, weeks, or even longer.
These episodes aren’t the normal shifts in energy or mood that everyone experiences—they’re more intense, more disruptive, and harder to control. However, DBT is based on emotion regulation and helps individuals who struggle with all mood disorders.
For example:
To receive a true diagnosis, these patterns must be sustained over time and cause significant challenges in functioning at home, at school, or in relationships. It’s the duration and impact—not just the mood changes—that distinguish bipolar disorder other mood disorders.
For people with bipolar disorder, important changes can develop gradually. A DBT diary card creates a daily record that allows the client and therapist to look at patterns across time instead of relying only on how the week is remembered during a therapy session.
Depending on the person’s treatment needs, the diary card can be adapted to monitor mood, sleep, energy, medication adherence, urges, behaviors, substance use, and DBT skill use. Over time, patterns may become easier to recognize—for example, sleeping fewer hours while energy increases, withdrawing from routines as depression begins to deepen, or becoming less consistent with prescribed medication during periods of feeling better.
These patterns give the client and therapist information they can actually use. Rather than waiting until a mood episode has significantly disrupted someone’s life, treatment can focus on recognizing early warning signs, strengthening routines that support stability, and deciding what skills or additional supports may be needed.
Learn how the DBT diary card helps monitor patterns in mood, sleep, urges, behaviors, and skill use.
At Suffolk DBT, we support teens and adults who are living with bipolar disorder. Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) is the foundation of our bipolar treatment program. It provides tools to regulate emotions, reduce impulsivity, and improve relationships.
Our goal is to help our clients and their families develop effective tools for long-term stability through the four core DBT modules.
Mindfulness helps clients become better observers of their own experience. Instead of immediately acting on a thought, feeling, or urge, clients practice noticing what is happening. This can help them develop greater awareness of patterns that may accompany elevated or depressed mood states—such as changes in sleep, energy, activity level, thinking, withdrawal, or behavior—and respond more intentionally when those changes begin to emerge.
This skill helps individuals manage crises without making them worse, giving them tools to avoid impulsive behaviors during mania (such as reckless spending) and find relief during depressive lows without harmful actions.
Emotion Regulation skills help clients understand factors that make them more vulnerable to intense emotions and develop habits that support greater stability. For someone with bipolar disorder, treatment may pay particular attention to sleep, routines, physical health, medication adherence, and changes in mood or energy.
Interpersonal Effectiveness skills help clients communicate needs, set boundaries, and navigate relationship difficulties more effectively. These skills can be especially helpful when changes in mood or energy affect communication, conflict, or connection with family and other important people.
At Suffolk DBT, we support teens and adults living with bipolar disorder through a structured DBT program designed to help clients better understand their individual patterns, strengthen routines that support stability, and use skills when changes in mood, energy, sleep, or behavior begin to emerge.
Treatment may include individual DBT therapy, skills training, diary cards, family involvement when appropriate, and between-session phone coaching. These components work together to help clients recognize patterns earlier, follow through with treatment recommendations, and use skills in everyday life—not only during the therapy hour.
Our New York licensed DBT therapists provide guidance during individual sessions on learning to manage symptoms, supporting recovery, and reducing crises, that are further reinforced in DBT skills groups.
Parents and caregivers may attend multi-family skills groups to learn the same DBT strategies their loved one is practicing, and learn how to reinforce DBT skills at home.
Phone coaching between sessions helps clients apply DBT skills in real time when they notice changes in mood, sleep, energy, urges, or behavior, rather than waiting until the next therapy session to discuss what happened.
Our DBT therapists also receive weekly consultation to ensure the quality of their care.
During your initial call, you’ll share concerns and history. Intake paperwork is completed in advance, allowing the clinician to focus on key insights during the first meeting. Our DBT treatment programs are tailored to each person’s developmental stage and unique needs:
Receive individual therapy and participate in our DBT-A program, which includes a multi-family skills group so caregivers are involved in treatment.
An intake session includes both the teen and their parent(s). This session assesses the adolescent, observes family interactions, and helps assign the right therapist. Teens typically begin group sessions within a few weeks.
Benefit from individual DBT therapy, skills groups, and phone coaching to support skill use outside of sessions.
The intake in this case focuses on assessing the individual’s history, symptoms, and treatment goals. Clients are then matched with a therapist trained in DBT and experienced in treating bipolar disorder.
If you or your teen is living with bipolar disorder, treatment can help you better understand patterns in mood, sleep, energy, behavior, and daily routines. At Suffolk DBT, we use a structured DBT approach to help clients recognize changes earlier, strengthen habits that support stability, stay engaged with treatment recommendations, and use skills when symptoms begin to shift.
Our program may include individual DBT therapy, skills training, diary cards, family involvement when appropriate, and between-session phone coaching. We work with teens and adults in Manhattan, Long Island, and throughout New York by telehealth.
