DBT consists of 4 Modes of Treatment and Skills Group is just one of those modes of treatment. Therefore, clients will get the most out of DBT skills training group if the participant is also receiving individual DBT treatment from a fully trained DBT therapist. Clients learn the skills in the group and the individual therapist helps them apply those skills to their individual life issues. Recently, research has shown that clients can benefit from attending only the skills group but not as much as doing the full treatment. TBC for CBT will assess clients for enrollment into our Skills Groups for clients who have other therapists (DBT or not) or without a therapist on a case by case basis and if there is availability in the group. For TBC for CBT comprehensive DBT clients, new group members will be added after being fully prepared by the individual therapist and when there is an opening and this usually takes 3-6 weeks. Preparation consists of the therapist orienting the client to how the group works, and some introductory concepts, and insuring commitment to attending. The group is focused on enhancing clients’ capabilities by teaching them behavioral skills. The group is run like a class where the group leader teaches the skills and assigns homework for clients to practice using the skills in their everyday lives. Groups meet on a weekly basis for approximately 1 3/4 hours and it takes 24 weeks to get through the full skills curriculum, which is often repeated to create a 1-year program. The decision to repeat the group is made by the client and individual therapist.
DBT includes four modules of behavioral skills. Participants will purchase the DBT Skills Handouts and Worksheets by Marsha Linehan (2nd Edition) as that is the manual we will be teaching from.
- Mindfulness: the practice of being fully aware and present in this one moment and Walking the Middle Path; which teaches Dialectics, Behaviorism and Validation.
- Distress Tolerance: How to tolerate pain in difficult situations, not change it
- Interpersonal Effectiveness: how to ask for what you want and say no while maintaining self-respect and relationships with others
- Emotion Regulation: how to change emotions that you want to change
Each one of these Modules is 6 weeks long which includes a “Transition Group” in between each module which are used to welcome new participants, or graduate members who are leaving. The maximum number of participants in each group is 8-9. The fee for each group is $65.00 per group if the client or family is receiving individual therapy or other services within TBC for CBT and $70.00 per group if the client has an outside provider and is doing “Group-Only“ at TBC for CBT. (Link to find out more information about “Group-Only”). Members are financially responsible for paying for group for each module regardless of attendance. See the calendar on the website for current dates and times of the group.