ABSTRACT
Linehan initially developed DBT for individuals who meet DSM-IV criteria for BPD (see Table 1).3 The treatment conceptualizes these criteria behaviourally, i.e. the characteristics outlined in the diagnostic criteria are simply descriptions of behaviour. DBT's behavioural conceptualization of diagnosis ¯ows from the radical behaviourist stance of the treatment that any response the organism makes (e.g. overt motor behaviour, thoughts, emotions and sensations) constitutes behaviour. Some of the DSM-IV criteria for BPD refer to overt behaviours, e.g. Table 1, criterion 4, impulsivity. Other criteria refer to covert behaviours of the client such as criterion 3, identity disturbance (American Psychiatric Association, 2000, p. 710).
