Program Overview

Radically Open Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (RO DBT) is one of the most effective treatments for a broad range of mental health issues. Like standard DBT, it is built 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. 

Where DBT is oriented to individuals who seek more emotional control, RO DBT is oriented towards those who sometimes exert too much control over their emotions. RO DBT calls this “overcontrol,” and it can get in the way of one’s mental health.

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 RO DBT is to provide clients with the skills to thrive through a short-term program.

Program Details

For the majority of clients, the RO DBT is delivered through our RO DBT skills group. Some clients, however, require additional support through individual therapy and phone coaching.

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:

• Discomfort with uncertainty and new experiences

• Hyper-vigilance and stress

• Interpersonal challenges 

At this session, we’ll also determine if you’d benefit from individual therapy or phone coaching as a supplement to the skills group.

Pre-Treatment (1-3 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 2-3 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 (1-3 sessions)

Individual Therapy (weekly)

For those clients that want to pursue individual therapy with a skills group, it will begin immediately after you commit to this program. The goal of individual therapy is to work on the primary issues that have been identified in the treatment plan, to maintain your motivation and commitment to the treatment, and to provide individual support for skills use.

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 eight months and is led by a therapist and an associate. Sessions combine lecture, discussion, role-playing, and practice exercises.

Radical openness is defined as the combination of three capabilities that are critical to emotional well-being, these include openness, flexibility, and social connectedness. The skills group delivers 30 skills that foster these capacities:

• Openness: These skills are focused on developing a tolerance for, and even appreciation for, new unexpected or disconfirming feedback. It counteracts a tendency to avoid uncertainty or unplanned risks. Where a natural inclination exists for suspiciousness and hyper-vigilance for potential threats, it allows overcontrolled individuals to consider critical feedback that they might otherwise dismiss. 

• Flexibility: These skills are focused on strategically loosening up the need for structure and order, perfectionism, one's sense of duty, and social obligation. It counteracts a tendency to overthink things, compulsively plan, and adhere to processes in a fundamentalist manner. It allows overcontrolled individuals to recognize that there is often a myriad of ways to achieve a goal and that being open to a diversity of approaches improves outcomes and resilience. 

• Social connectedness: These skills are focused on our awareness of others’ emotions as well as how we represent our own emotions to others. It enhances awareness of emotions as a critical part of communication and it helps reduce the discomfort overcontrolled people may feel when expressing emotions—in fact, this discomfort can often cause overcontrolled people to misrepresent their emotions in ways that are confusing for all parties involved. Building social connectedness allows overcontrolled individuals to engage in closer relationships that foster emotional connection and enhance self-awareness and perspective. 

Watch a short introduction to Radically Open Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (RO DBT)

Is RO DBT right for you?

Hear from the founder of RO DBT about why he created this treatment