DBT class in core mindfulness skills

What is Dialectical Behaviour Therapy?

Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT) is the most researched treatment for people who experience difficulties in regulating their emotions. It was originally developed by Dr Marsha Linehan for self-harming individuals who met criteria for borderline personality disorder. DBT is effective for people who experience overwhelming emotions and want to learn more skilful ways of managing intense suffering, reduce disruptions to their personal relationships and social lives, decrease impulsivity and build lives that they will experience as worth living.

What will I learn?

There are four DBT skills modules which are based on the updated DBT skills training manual by Marsha Linehan (2014). Each of these modules is to be attended as part of the full DBT programme. Modules in distress tolerance, emotion regulation and interpersonal effectiveness begin with a week of mindfulness. It takes 32 weeks to complete all the skills once.

• Core mindfulness consists of four weekly sessions and is designed to teach you how to increase your awareness levels, focus better, train your attention, decrease reactivity and judgmentalness and be more accepting of current moment experiences.
• Distress tolerance module lasts for eight weeks and is centred on accepting difficult situations and emotions and finding ways to survive and tolerate the moment without engaging in problematic behaviours such as self-harm.
• Emotion regulation entails 12 weekly classes and involves learning to recognise and label current emotions, identify obstacles to changing emotions, reduce emotional reactivity, increase positive emotions, and change emotions that are unhelpful or unwarranted.
• Interpersonal effectiveness is spread over eight weeks and teaches effective strategies for asking for what you need, saying no, setting boundaries and coping with interpersonal conflict. This module is of particular relevance to individuals who experience their relationships as chaotic, intense and unstable, and it teaches strategies for maintaining balanced relationships.   

How will I learn?

New skills are presented each week and homework is assigned for participants to practice during the week. Homework is reviewed at the next class. To enhance learning and effective application of newly acquired knowledge and skills people who commit to the full DBT programme will have access to phone skills coaching, which can be accessed at times of heightened distress seven days a week. The goal of this is for people to get better at using the skills when they are needed most, such as during times of intense emotion, crisis or conflict.

Who should join the class?

There is no specific diagnostic requirement for participation in our DBT skills classes. Although DBT was originally developed for people meeting criteria for BPD, the skills we teach can help other people who experience problems with self-harm, extreme emotional sensitivity, mood swings, anger, recurrent depression, anxiety, intense or chaotic relationships, impulsivity and stress.

All individuals interested in joining the full programme will be assessed by a member of the mind-reframed team to determine whether or not the group is an appropriate fit. Those who would like to attend only some modules without committing to individual DBT can provide a letter of recommendation from their psychiatrist or therapist outlining the history and reasons for referral.