DBT Skills Group

Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT) helps people who experience unstable and intense negative emotions and behaviours. Difficulty managing painful emotions frequently underlie problems with impulsive behaviours and can contribute to conflict in interpersonal relationships. DBT uses acceptance-based and cognitive behavioral strategies to help facilitate the regulation of emotional experiences and behaviours. The core purpose of DBT is to help people improve their lives through a balance of acceptance and change, and ultimately to build what we call “a life worth living.”
Originally developed for the treatment of Borderline Personality Disorder, DBT has been shown to be a highly effective treatment for a variety of other mental health issues such as complex trauma, chronic depression, anger problems, substance abuse and eating disorders.
DBT Skills Training Group uses a range of strategies for you to learn coping skills that improve the regulation of your emotions and behaviours. You are taught how to identify and label intense emotions and how to manage your feelings with behavioural strategies. There are four skills modules within the group: emotion regulation, distress tolerance, mindfulness and interpersonal effectiveness. The completion of all skills modules takes 24 weeks.
DBT is particularly effective for people who struggle with:
Borderline Personality Disorder
Suicidal thoughts or suicide attempts
Non-Suicidal Self Injury (e.g., cutting, burning)
Anger or Anger Management
Intense negative emotions (e.g., sadness; anxiety)
Impulsive, self-damaging behaviours (e.g., binge-eating; unsafe sex; overspending)
Substance abuse
Difficulties with anger management
Difficulties with relationships
Chronic feelings of emptiness
Eating disordered behaviours
Benefits of DBT Skills Group
Learn skills to cope with intense emotions, thoughts, and behaviours
Reduce and eliminate suicide attempts and suicidal behaviours
Reduce and eliminate self-harm
Reduce and eliminate suicidal ideation
Reduce and eliminate impulsive, self-damaging behaviours
Areas of Focus
There are four skills modules within the group...
Mindfulness
Skills to control attention, become aware of what is happening for you in different situations, understand yourself and situations better, and to stay in the present moment.
Distress Tolerance
Skills to get through a crisis, and to manage extremely difficult emotions without engaging in destructive behaviours that make situations worse.
Emotion Regulation
Skills to change emotions in the long run so that you experience less painful emotions and more positive emotions.
Interpersonal Effectiveness
Skills to make relationships better, and to effectively handle interactions with others including asking for what you want and need and saying no to things you do not wish to do.