Group Skills Training

We offer Dialectical Behavior Therapy skills training groups for adults, families, teens, and parents. The groups consist of weekly 90-minute sessions and unlike conventional support or process-oriented groups, skills training sessions are conducted somewhat like a class. The focus is on acquiring skills to decrease negative emotions and behaviors and increase the effective functioning necessary to build a more satisfying life. Each participant receives curriculum materials describing the skills, along with corresponding practice assignments. Sessions begin with a mindfulness exercise, followed by practice review and new skills instruction. Finally, brief practice material is assigned to extend the teaching to real life situations through day-to-day use of the skills.

WCDBT offers day time, after school, and evening groups. Group size varies although it is generally six to ten individuals or three to five families.

Adult training consists of four sets of skills modules:

Adolescent and family groups include a fifth module, Walking the Middle Path.

The application of these skills to a member's particular challenges is typically explored in individual therapy sessions. Further, their use is rehearsed in this forum so that the skills can be more easily accessed when needed in day-to-day life.

Parent groups draw on skills from all modules to help parents better understand the struggles of their children, whether pre-teen, teen, or adult, and raise awareness of their own experience. From there, we provide parents with the means to more effectively cope with the challenges of parenting, manage their emotions, and support their children.