Objectives
- Analyze the origins and clinical implications of Biosocial Theory.
- Choose DBT skills to help clients identify unhealthy interaction styles.
- Use mindfulness skills to empower clients in interpreting and reacting situations in healthier ways.
- Utilize DBT skills to encourage support and constructive feedback in a group setting.
- Develop ways in which clinicians can maximize client buy-in for DBT homework assignments.
- Determine how interpersonal skills training can be used with clients to improve relationships.
- Determine how DBT skills can be used to decrease the likelihood of compassion fatigue in clinicians.
- Utilize DBT skills to identify and overcome obstacles to changing emotions and reactive behaviors.
- Modify DBT for working with children and adolescents.
- Appraise how DBT can be used in working with trauma survivors.
- Use diary cards to monitor emotions and track use of DBT skills to deal with challenges.
- Utilize a chain analysis with clients to help them gain insight into how they can change problem behaviors.
- Determine how opposite action strategies can be used by clients to reduce self-destructive urges.
- Choose interpersonal effectiveness exercises to help clients keep relationship without sacrificing their self-respect.
- Utilize a pros and cons list to help clients see the consequences of their actions and make better choices when they are faced with a difficult decision.
- Choose strategies to confront therapy interfering behavior and help clients overcome avoidance.
- Determine how Dialectical Behavior Therapy interventions can help clients foster radical acceptance of traumatic events and reduce feelings of shame, guilt and fear.
- Choose STOP skills to help clients manage crisis situations and decrease impulsive behaviors.
- Use the levels of validation to enhance the therapeutic alliance and teach clients to validate themselves.
- Identify DBT skills that can be used with clients to reduce self-harm and suicidal behaviors.
- Develop a client’s Wise Mind state so they can be more aware and less impulsive in their actions.
Outline
Foundations of DBT
- Biosocial Theory
- Characteristics of DBT
- DBT as an evidence-based practice
- Dialectics: the balance of acceptance and change
- 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 acceptance
- Tools to accept change
- 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
- 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
- Children and adolescents
- Trauma survivors
- Substance abusers
- 3 ways to decrease therapist burnout
- The characteristics of an effective DBT team
- Integrating DBT into your practice
