Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) Adult Skills Groups (18+)

Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) skills group is one of the four primary modes of DBT delivery. Although the strongest evidence exists for DBT as a treatment for people with Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD), DBT has been found to be effective for a wide variety of mental health conditions including Substance Use Disorder, depression, Bipolar Disorder, Cluster B Personality Disorders, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), eating disorders, transdiagnostic emotion dysregulation, Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), suicidal and self-harming adolescents, and pre-adolescent children with severe emotional and behavioral dysregulation. Clients participating in DBT skill group also participate in DBT individual psychotherapy.

DBT skills group focuses on enhancing clients’ capabilities by teaching them behavioral skills. DBT clients attend a skills group weekly for about a year (some clients attend longer). Skills group is similar to taking a class and homework is assigned weekly. Clients learn and practice skills from four modules:

• MINDFULNESS: Focuses on quality of attention and awareness.

• DISTRESS TOLERANCE: Focuses on getting through a time of distress/crisis without doing anything to make the situation worse.

• INTERPERSONAL EFFECTIVENESS: Focuses on initiating/maintaining/repairing relationships, effectively making requests and setting boundaries and increasing/maintaining self-respect.

• EMOTION REGULATION: Focuses on decreasing emotional sensitivity/intensity, preventing unwanted emotions from starting and stopping or reducing unwanted emotions once they start.

Skills groups at MCP meet weekly for 2.5 hours and are offered mornings, afternoons and evenings, Monday through Thursday, and Friday mornings. The length of time clients stay in a group is based on goals and progress measured in individual therapy. Clients are generally asked to commit to one year of skills group (some attend longer). At this time, most DBT skills groups at MCP meet via telehealth.

An initial assessment is completed with each individual interested in receiving DBT services to discuss reason/s for seeking services, to identify problems, strengths, goals, and recommendations, and to determine diagnosis/es (if applicable).

Most types of insurance are accepted, as is private pay. Please contact your insurance company to determine your level of coverage.

For more information, to make a referral, or to request an assessment for our DBT program, contact us at 651-644-4100.