For Selena Gomez, mental health has never been something to hide—or be ashamed of. She’s been candid about her bipolar disorder diagnosis along with her experiences with anxiety, depression, and a psychosis episode—all of which she shared, with raw honesty and vulnerability, in a documentary. And now, Gomez is revealing the specific type of therapy that truly changed the way she tends to her well-being.
In this year’s Allure Best of Beauty cover, the Only Murders in the Building star opened up about her mental health journey, pointing out that comments about her body, in particular, have been triggering: “I’ve dealt with a lot of weight issues in my life, and that’s something I’m very sensitive to,” Gomez told Allure. And it was dialectical behavior therapy (DBT) that helped her make sense of these complicated feelings.
“I got stung by a person saying I was fat. Why is that [emotion] coming up?” she continued. But it was DBT that helped her unpack, “Oh, now I understand, that’s stemming from that one time when I was going through some medical stuff and I had gained weight….”
For context, DBT is a form of talk therapy, considered the first-line treatment for borderline personality disorder. However, it’s also commonly used for people with bipolar disorder (which Gomez revealed she was diagnosed with in 2018), PTSD, and eating disorders. It’s a well-researched approach that teaches people practical, actionable strategies to help regulate intense emotions and cope with distress.
In Gomez’s experience, some therapists will provide “little cards [you can pull out] when you feel a certain type of emotion, with questions to help guide you through understanding it.” Lauren Kerwin, PhD, an LA-based psychologist who provides DBT, previously told SELF that this type of therapy also emphasizes the importance of accepting difficult thoughts before trying to “fix” them: “We encourage clients to make statements like, ‘I accept the way that I am, and I know I need to improve,’” Dr. Kerwin explained.
This mindset shift might sound pretty small, but it’s one that can make a big difference—a lesson that Gomez has taken to heart. “I want to keep evolving and getting better in every area of my life. And I want to experience everything, so it’s important for me to keep myself in check,” she said. “I’m so stoked that when an emotion pops up, I’m able to acknowledge it and be a part of it, then let it go.”
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