How would the DBT Skills Course Help Me?
The DBT Adult Skills Group provides valuable, interactive learning to practice coping skills for difficult situations in life – those times when big emotions flare up or shut us down in life.
DBT Skills help us deal with distress so we stay on track to meet our long-term goals. These are skills for life which can leave you more skillful in your dealings with others, more accepting of circumstances and changes, and more balanced and effective in solving problems and tolerating painful situations in our lives and relationships.
Based on a 12-week syllabus adapted from Linehan’s skills workbook, we spend 2-4 Class sessions on the following four (4) core modules of dialectical and behavioral skills:
- Mindfulness: In DBT Skills group, we learn to slow down and mindfully observe (non-judgmentally) what’s going on inside of us and in our environment – neither attaching to our thoughts and opinions, nor ignoring them – just observing and describing them like a reporter. We practice ways to notice what is happening in us without over-or under-reacting, and stay curious, leaving us open for more skillful choices.
- Distress Tolerance: When things are bad, the last thing we need is to make them worse. We use distress tolerance to cope with emotional pain and challenging situations that are a part of life (whether we want them to be or not). We learn coping skills to soothe ourselves and restore balance and wisdom in the middle of turmoil so we can act effectively under the circumstances.
- Emotion Regulation: Emotion regulation helps us recognize and work with intense emotions, developing strategies to regulate them from the moment we become present to a difficulty arising (that is, before we quit, over-react or blow it). We learn to identify emotions for what they are (e.g., anger, sadness, anxiety) and examine how they impact us in biological, psychological and social ways. We then find ways to problem solve from an open, wise mind, or to act opposite destructive urges in a willing manner.
- Interpersonal Effectiveness: We learn to be mindful of ourselves in interpersonal situations, noticing and describing what we do in response to others and environmental stimuli. We mindfully observe what goes on inside ourselves, for others and in the environment, particularly as we try to get needs met, and when those needs may be invalidated or thwarted. We notice how we behave and the impact of our behavior on others and seek effective ways to achieve goals. This includes making requests, communicating our needs clearly and setting boundaries to support our objectives.
How Does The Group Work?
The Group will be hosted on Zoom (privacy and stable internet required) and is run like a class: The group leader teaches the skills in an interactive way and assigns homework; clients practice skills between classes as a way to extend them into everyday life.
Participants will purchase the DBT Skills Handouts and Worksheets by Marsha Linehan (2nd Edition) as that is the manual we will be teaching from.
We meet each week and the class lasts 90 minutes. We typically have a co-leader who will join us and attend to virtual needs. A typical class includes:
- Brief Introductions or Check In, Reminder of Group Policies (privacy/confidentiality)
- Mindfulness exercise
- Review of New Skill, Discussion, Modeling/Demonstration of the Skill (Q&A’s, Application of the Skill)
- Homework Review and Assignment for the Next Week (after the 1 week)
The cost of the course is $85/session for the 12 sessions. Participants are financially responsible for each group session during the 12-week course, regardless of attendance. The total cost for an individual is $1020, payable in 1 to 3 payments. The rate for Couples is $120/session, or a total of $1440, payable in 1 to 3 payments. The rate for Reviewers is $45/session, or a total of $540, payable in full at registration. Some sliding scale fees are available. Groups are limited to 8 to 10 people.
The Group is NOT therapy, nor do you need to have a diagnosis or be in individual or couples therapy to join the Group. We will not be processing incidents nor dive too deeply into the complex issues that you may be dealing with, in and out of the classroom. I like to speak with those who are interested to answer your questions and discuss participation and fit. If you have therapeutic needs, we ask that you continue with your therapy throughout the Group and will request a Release of Information to coordinate care, if deemed necessary.
Here’s What Some Recent Participants Had to Say:
“I would absolutely recommend. I believe everyone should take this course as a foundation in high school or college in a perfect world. It was so helpful and eye opening.”
“None of these skills that I learned as a whole were modeled to me as a child. I also learned about how important it is to find the specific skills that work for me.”
Disclaimer: Please note that this workshop is psycho-educational, designed to serve as teaching and guidance. and not a substitute for individual or couples therapy. If you need assistance, contact me. I provide prospective clients a complimentary 15-minute consultation.
