What is DBT?
Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT) is a form of therapy designed to treat people who experience intense emotions and struggle with mental health problems. DBT is based on Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT), and has been adapted to treat issues associated with borderline personality disorder.
Behaviours such as these are consistent with anyone experiencing these intense emotions:
- Suicidal thoughts or suicide attempts
- Self-harm
- Impulsive self-damaging behaviours (binge eating, overspending, unsafe sex)Impulsive self-damaging behaviours (binge eating, overspending, unsafe sex)
- Eating disorders
- Alcohol or drug use for emotional control
- Relationship difficulties
- Anger management issues
- Intense emotions (e.g. anxiety, stress, depressed moods, sadness)
How is it implemented?
Sometimes it’s difficult to maintain an emotional balance and self-regulation when overwhelmed by emotions in various situations. The aim of DBT is to help you learn skills that you use to manage your difficult emotions through recognising, acknowledging and changing those unhelpful behaviours that are associated to the intense emotions.
To help you achieve this, DBT therapists teach you the following techniques:
Mindfulness
Mindfulness skills are psychological and behavioural meditation practices that are taught to help focus your mind and attention in the moment
Distress tolerance
Distress tolerance skills are taught to help you manage crisis when you can’t immediately make changes for the better. It also teaches you how to tolerate difficult feelings, without yielding to impulsive ways that can make matters worse.
Emotion regulation
This skill teaches how to understand and name the emotions you are experiencing. It also teaches skills to regulate and handle the intense and painful emotional states and trains you on what to do that will bring about more positive emotions in the longer run.
Interpersonal effectiveness
This is learning effective strategies for asserting yourself and asking for what you want, saying no to what you don’t want whilst maintaining a healthy relationship and self-respect.
What is the treatment process?
At Elpizo Counselling Services we offer the complete DBT protocol which has four elements:
DBT Skills Group
The group sessions offer the opportunity to learn and practice the taught skills to manage your mental health challenges or daily life stressors. Group sessions also cultivate a group of support among members through interpersonal relationships and connecting with others who are experiencing similar challenges and allows for better understanding of shared human experience and gaining hope and insights from others in the group.
These groups also offer parents/carers the opportunity to learn and practice relational and communication skills to enrich their relationships with their youth or adult participant. Having a shared language and a basic understanding of the skills the participant is learning will allow parents/carers to offer better ongoing support for their loved ones.
Individual therapy
Each participant in a skills group must also be engaged in individual therapy. You will either work with an Elpizo DBT therapist, source your own therapist or we can assist in finding you a therapist in your locality.
Telephone crisis coaching with a therapist
Telephone coaching offers you immediate support during a crisis in between sessions. A therapist will be on hand to remind you of skills that can be used in that moment. This will not be a telephone counselling session but a crisis skills intervention.
Therapists’ consultation group
This group is your care team. They work in collaboration to ensure that you receive the best possible care and treatment.
What is expected from you?
- Register for the skills group
- Pay for it
- Attend all group skills training sessions-3 misses and you will be asked to discontinue
- Attend regular one on one therapy sessions
- Complete weekly homework which are trying out the new skills and practicing them
DBT Skills Group Schedule
Groups and individual therapy are now being offered ONLINE as well as IN PERSON. Register for our interactive, informative and supportive sessions.
Our DBT skills training groups run for 2 hours every week, for 24 weeks.
Mondays – 6:00 -8:00 pm – begins Jan 30, 2023 for teens 13-17 yr old – Register https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/504007539117
Thursdays – 6:00 – 8:00 pm – begins Feb 2, 2023 for adults, 18 yrs plus
Register https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/503978793137
Or email admin@elpizocounselling.com
Group Size
For an effective, optimized and interactive learning environment, groups are limited to a maximum of 10 participants and a minimum of 5.
Fees
Skills group cost $130 +HST per session for 24 weeks
Information session a week prior to beginning for parents, guardians, and carers who are taught DBT relational and communication skills to offer a better ongoing support.
Individual Therapy is a requirement and essential whilst enrolled in a DBT skills group. The cost of individual therapy varies depending on the provider. However, at Elpizo the cost is $170 +HST per session. At Elpizo, individual therapy includes telephone coaching that offers immediate support during a crisis in-between sessions.
Insurance coverage
Skills Group and Individual Therapy are eligible under most insurance plans who cover Registered Psychotherapists (RP) or Registered Social Workers (MSW, RSW). Check with your company to determine coverage. You can request your company to include psychotherapy in your benefit plan if not already included.
Contact:
Email: admin@elpizocounselling.com
Tel: 1-877-335-7496