2025 DBT SKILLS TRAINING

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This is a virtual group for your convenience! Our skills training group meet every week for a live, interactive 90-minute session. 

We meet every Wednesday, at 4pm MST/6pm CST. There is no attendance requirement, but it is recommended to make a 12-session commitment as far as possible. You will need a stable Internet connection, and I do ask that yo keep your camera on to build trust with others. As far as possible please use a device that is not your phone, as a tiny screen makes things tricky.

You pay $50 per skills training session, and you may cancel or withdraw from the group at any time. You will be asked to sign up with a credit card on file that will be charged after each session. If you are not my individual therapy client, you will need to do once-off intake session at $100 before starting the group. You will also be asked to buy the training manual (currently available on Amazon: https://a.co/d/4yL4DiJ) Clients who have both an individual therapy session with me and skills group, get a reduced rate on their individual therapy fee.

A DBT Skills Group is one component of comprehensive or standard DBT. In this skills group, you will receive the training as intended by Dr Marsha Linehan, the creator of DBT. We use the official DBT Skills Training Handouts and Worksheets manual. A typical DBT skills group covers four modules over time: mindfulness, distress tolerance, interpersonal effectiveness and emotion regulation. It is a mixture of cognitive-behavioral therapy and Zen Buddhism mindfulness principles (but with no religious content.) This is a psychoeducation group, so the emphasis is on learning skills, and is not a substitute for individual therapy. The group will have weekly homework and you will keep a daily Diary Card on your phone to track your skills practice.

People who struggle with emotion regulation and suicide need support. Unfortunately, a skills group cannot offer you that kind of support. It is therefore a safety requirement of this group that you have an individual therapist. I will make contact with your therapist to ensure that they monitor your risk factors. You may also join my practice as an individual therapy client if you do not already have an individual therapist. As a DBT client in this skills group, you will have access to phone coaching with me in between skills groups.

Most of my clients have either BPD, CPTSD or DID. The authorized body for official DBT credentials is Behavioral Tech Institute (BTECH) and the DBT-Linehan Board of Certification (DBT-LBC). I am basic trained in DBT with BTECH (Foundations, 2020), and currently in their 18-month advanced training (Intensive Plus, completing January 2025). I am on my path to earn DBT certification. I belong to two DBT consultation teams (a requirement of comprehensive DBT), which means I meet with other DBT therapists twice every week to get support with skills training and case consultation. I practice DBT under the guidance of DBT expert and psychologist, Dr Lisa Galper from Scottsdale, Arizona.