b'Life with MSUUssiinnggDDBBTTttooCCrreeaatteeYYoouurrLLiiffeeWWoorrtthhLLiivviinngg,,DDeessppiitteeMMSSHHoowwttoouusseetthheerraappeeuuttiiccini ntteerrvveennttiioonnssttoommoovveeppaassttccooggnniittiivveeddiissttrreessssBy Sarah TedescoCognitiveandpsychologicalsymptomsareprevalentamong peoplelivingwithmultiplesclerosis.Whetheryouexperiencedepression,thoughtsofnotbeinggoodenough,unhappiness,emotionalfatigue,oranyotherpsychologicalmanifestationsofyourMS,lifecanbehardtotolerate.However,thereareconcreteskillsandtherapeuticmodalitiesavailabletothoselivingwithMS.Cognitivebehavioraltherapyhaslongbeenthego-torecommendationforthoselivingwithcognitiveandpsychologicalsymptomslinkedtotheirMS.However, anewerbranchofCBT,calleddialecticalbehaviortherapy,hasbeenshowntoassistpeoplediagnosedwithMSneedingskillstoincreasetheirmasteryoveremotionaldysregulationandcognitivedistress.RachelBlogg,alicensedclinicalsocialworkerwhoisintensivelytrainedinDBTandwhomaintainsasuccessfulprivatepracticeinBocaRaton,Fla.,said,CBTfocusesontheinteractionsofpeoplesthoughts,feelings,andbehaviorsandhowtheyeachaecteachother.DBTalsofocusesonthat;however,theemphasisinDBTisonemotionalregulation,beingmindful,andlearninghowtochangebehavioralpatterns.Dialecticalbehaviortherapy,insimpleterms,isatypeofevidence-basedcognitivebehavioraltherapythatfocusesonchangingproblematicbehaviorandthoughtpatternstohelptheclientreachalifeworthliving.ForsomeonewithMS,thedenitionofwhatmsfocusmagazine.org 16'