Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT)

Our DBT groups and individual therapy are for children and young adults (ages 6-25) who need help with any or all of the following:

• Impulsive/disruptive behaviors
• Frequent mood swings and poor coping skills
• Self-injurious and suicidal behaviors
• Depression and anxiety
• Eating disordered behaviors
• Drug or alcohol abuse

DBT-C is an empirically supported adaptation of DBT for children and preadolescents (ages 6-12). The group is modified to fit the needs of children in this age range and focuses on building, practicing and reinforcing new coping skills to achieve emotional and behavioral regulation.

Mood Masters® is a DBT-based group for preadolescents and their parents (ages 9–12). Children and parents attend skills classes separately to learn core DBT skills, while parents also build tools to communicate more effectively with their children, manage challenging behavior at home, enhance their own coping skills, and empower their preadolescent to use DBT skills to manage emotions and problem solve.

The Adolescent Multifamily DBT is a DBT-based group for teens and their parents or caregivers (ages 13–18). Teens and caregivers attend skills groups together to learn core DBT skills, while parents also build tools to communicate more effectively with their teen, enhance their own coping skills, and support their teen in using DBT skills to deal with problems.

The Young Adult DBT is a DBT-based group for young adults (ages 18–25). Participants attend skills groups with peers who experience similar concerns and receive individual therapeutic support and may access separate parent consultation if desired.

Skills training is at the core of every DBT group and provides participants with tools to manage intense emotions and respond flexibly to difficult life experiences. DBT skills support understanding, managing, and regulating emotions; tolerating distress and crises without making problems bigger; and making and keeping satisfying, appropriate relationships with others.

Skills training also helps increase self-awareness, expand the ability to recognize alternative points of view, and build problem-solving and validation skills to effectively manage differences of opinion with family members.