Outline

Foundations of DBT

• Biosocial Theory
• Characteristics of DBT
• DBT as an evidence-based practice
• Dialectics: the balance of acceptance and change

DBT in the Clinical Setting

• Application of DBT in the individual and group therapy setting
• Skills training methods
• Validation strategies
• Research and limitations

DBT SKILLS TRAINING

Mindfulness: Cultivate the Skills at the Core of Successful DBT Therapy

• Acceptance vs. judgement
• Wise mind – achieve harmony between emotion and reason
• Accessible exercises for building mindfulness skills
  • Observation – keep clients calm, centered and aware
  • Describe – overcome assumptions
  • Participation – release judgement and fear
• Strategies for teaching mindfully and exercises for therapy

Interpersonal Effectiveness: Skills to Build Better Relationships and Lives

• Tools to identify strengths
• Balancing relationships with self-respect
• Exercises and role play guidance on how to:
  • Develop healthy assertiveness skills
  • Enhance conflict resolution skills
  • Build empathy
  • Keep problems from building up
  • Resist pressure
• Top strategies for changing behavior

Emotion Regulation: Practical Skills for Healthier Emotions and Greater Resilience

• Strong emotions and poor coping skills
• How to change unwanted emotions
• Reduce emotional vulnerability while practicing self-care
• Opposite action skills to reduce maladaptive behavior
• Emotion Regulation exercises
• Self-soothing strategies that work
• Learn the sleep hygiene protocol

Distress Tolerance: Skills to Cope with Painful Moments and Survive Crisis

• Developing crisis survival and reality acceptance skills
• 4 options to solving problems
• Problem solving case studies
• Using pros and cons to make decisions
• STOP skills to manage crisis situations
• The steps to practicing radical experience
• Tools to accept change

DBT in Clinical Practice

• Analyzing behaviors: chain analysis & missing links analysis
• Diary cards and homework with clients
• Identify therapy interfering behaviors
• Develop skills to identify and manage self-harming & suicidal behaviors

Self-Harm and Suicidal Crises: A Roadmap for Assessment and Intervention

• Screening and assessment tools for self-harming behaviors
• Interventions and treatment considerations for the self-harming population
• Suicide risk as a skills deficit problem
• Tools and techniques to assess for level of risk
• Firearms, medications, and lethal-means restriction plans that work
• Safety plans and crisis intervention

Adapt DBT with Different Populations

• Children and adolescents
• Trauma survivors
• Substance abusers

DBT: The Therapist and Consultation Group

• 3 ways to decrease therapist burnout
• The characteristics of an effective DBT team
• Integrating DBT into your practice