Program Overview

Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT) is one of the most effective treatments for a broad range of mental health issues. The treatment is based on dialectical philosophy which teaches us that we can hold and synthesize opposing viewpoints. Perhaps the most basic example of this is how we can simultaneously accept ourselves for who we are today while also recognizing the need for change.

DBT has been proven to work through more than thirty years of research. The approach builds on Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), another evidence-based approach that has seventy years of research behind it. Unlike traditional psychotherapy, DBT is a skills-based program, which means that treatment is not intended to be ongoing over the long term—the goal of DBT is to provide patients with the skills to thrive through a time-limited program of individual and group therapy. 

Program Details

We offer both Comprehensive DBT and Informed DBT versions of this program depending on the nature and severity of the issues that you’re experiencing. Comprehensive DBT treatment includes:

• Individual Therapy (weekly)

• Skills Group (weekly)

• Phone coaching (as needed)

DBT informed treatment typically does not require phone coaching and may include individual therapy and/or skills groups. 

Assessment (1 session)

Before starting our program you’ll have a 60-minute assessment session with one of our therapists so that we can better understand the issues that you’re experiencing and determine if DBT, and our center, are a good fit for you. During this session, we’ll discuss the prevalence of:

• Impulsive behaviors

• Difficulty regulating emotions

• Interpersonal challenges 

At this session, we’ll also determine if you’re best suited to be in a comprehensive or informed DBT program. 

Pre-Treatment (1-5 sessions)

If you’ll be working with an individual therapist, you'll begin meeting with your therapist on a weekly schedule. The duration of our work together will depend on the specifics of your situation. 

If you’re just attending an adult skills group, we recommend that you participate in 2-5 individual sessions in advance of joining the group. In these sessions, your therapist will prepare you for the skills group and develop the necessary rapport to support you individually, if needed, during the skills course.

Treatment (24 - 36 individual sessions / 28 group sessions)

Individual Therapy (weekly)

Individual therapy takes place weekly for most clients, though some clients with acute issues may see their therapist twice a week. Individual sessions continue in parallel with participation in the skills group and generally continue for a couple of months after completion of the skills group before clients graduate from the program. 

Skills Group (weekly)

Once the assessment process is complete and a basic foundation has been laid during individual therapy, you can begin attending a skills group. This is a small psychoeducational learning group that meets for 90 to 120 minutes (depending on whether a break is needed) weekly. Groups typically include 6 to 10 participants. The skills group continues for approximately seven months and is led by a therapist and an associate. Sessions combine lecture, discussion, role-playing, and practice exercises in order to teach the following skill modules:

• Mindfulness: teaches participants how to focus the mind, direct attention, and how to non-judgmentally observe and describe what they are feeling and thinking at the moment. These skills can help teens develop a more stable sense of who they are, and can help reduce reactivity to painful thoughts and emotions.

• Distress tolerance: targets impulsivity by teaching how to effectively distract and soothe themselves while considering the pros and cons of their actions. These skills typically replace problem behaviors such as emotional outbursts, cutting classes, self-inflicted cutting, physical fights, and using alcohol or drugs.

• Emotion regulation: addresses extreme emotional sensitivity, rapid mood changes, and other unregulated moods such as chronic depression, anxiety, or hostility. Examples of specific skills include learning to identify and label emotions, learning how to increase positive moods, and learning how to make yourself less vulnerable to negative moods.

• Interpersonal Effectiveness: addresses difficulties in maintaining consistent and rewarding relationships by teaching skills such as how to ask for what you want, how to say no in a gentle yet effective manner, and how to maintain your sense of self-respect and independence in the face of peer pressure.

• Walking the Middle Path: targets extreme, rigid, or non-balanced thinking and behaviors among teens and their caregivers. These skills involve learning about common areas of conflict in relationships and reducing the conflict by learning methods of behavior change as well as methods of validation and acceptance.

Phone Coaching (required for comprehensive DBT)

On-demand skills coaching, or what DBT calls “phone coaching” is a requirement for comprehensive DBT and may be included in your treatment plan. Phone coaching is designed to promote skills use where it matters most–in the real world. When clients feel “stuck” and unsure what to do, they are encouraged to contact their individual therapist for help in applying their newly learned DBT skills in “real-time.”

Watch a short introduction to Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT)

Recommended

A card game that helps clients (and their therapists) practice DBT skills.

Is DBT right for you?