Introduction to DBT
Dialectical Living offers all programs ONLINE.
At Dialectical Living our approach is strength based, community and recovery focused. Our mandate is to provide accessible and accommodating DBT programs that fit different budgets, flexible schedules, have few restrictions, require no diagnosis and are anti-stigma, anti-oppressive and LGBTQ friendly. If you would like to meet the team please visit our About Us page.
Dialectical Living provides dialectical behaviour therapy or “DBT” to people with emotion regulation challenges in the form of 12 – 24 once per week group sessions. We have both Intro to DBT and an Advanced DBT Program. If you know you want to do the entire 24 weeks and sign up for both you will enjoy some savings signing up for full 24 weeks ahead. *Many of the studies for efficacy for DBT have been done with 20+ week programs.
Dialectical Living does not have requirements in terms of diagnoses and is self referral. Our only criteria is to have challenges regulating emotions.
Does this sound like you?:
- Do you have difficulties maintaining relationships maybe some/all of your relationships are fraught with intense feelings of judgement, fears of abandonment and rejection?
- Do you idealize and devalue your close relationships? This means you love someone one minute and hate them the next.
- Do you think in black and white?
- Do you have difficulties with substance use, self-harm, disordered eating and/or overspending?
- Have you ever felt suicidal? Maybe you think about killing yourself sometimes/often?
- Do you have difficulties working or going to school?
- Do you experience dissociation? These are times when you lose time or you feel out of your body.
- Do you experience emotional pain more than others in your life? It may seem like you are super sensitive to the emotional touch.
- Do you have intense feelings when small things go wrong?
- Do you feel that every day catastrophic things happen in your life?
- Do you find that you take things really personally like when your friend cancels a dinner and you feel that they are cancelling because of something you did/said?
- Do you wish you were more independent in your life; feeling like you are self sufficient in your day to day activities?
- Do you feel negative a lot of the time and/or worry about bad things happening?
- Do you have negative feelings about yourself and others? Maybe you have some self hatred or loathing?
- Have you been on a wait-list for psychiatric treatment?
- Do you want to learn dialectical behaviour therapy skills?
- Are you looking for support from people with lived experience?
If you answered “yes” to any of the above questions, then DBT and Dialectical Living would be a good fit for you! Our “Intro to DBT” psychoeducational group will teach you skills to address any of the challenges mentioned above.
Learning DBT can be fun! We pride ourselves on making learning fun, engaging and interactive! We use videos, role plays, home practice teams, break out groups, games, interactive activities, DBT charades, and small group discussions. There are opening and closing mindfulness and take home practices each week. The group is taught by healthcare practitioners with lived experience, many of us with Masters in Social Work. We come from a place of truly knowing and learning beyond the text book and often brings powerful real life examples into the groups which help lead by example inspiring individuals to make real change in their lives. Our program is covered on most insurance plans and also a medical expense write off on your taxes.
We teach the same course using the same content/work book/home practices to families We strongly recommend that families also learn DBT so that they can help in moments of crisis, learn how to deescalate and validate which are crucial for the person who has wonderfully sensitive emotions. We have a persons with BPD group and a separate group for families bringing families together who have loved ones with Emotion Regulation Disorder (BPD)
Twelve weekly sessions as follows:
- Introduction: What is Borderline Personality Disorder (“ERD/BPD”); and DBT (Dialectical Behavioural Therapy Skills); Mindfulness
- Introduction to Mindfulness: Wise Mind, What Skills, How Skills, & Non-judgmental Stance
- Introduction to Distress Tolerance: ACCEPTS (Activities, Contributing, Comparisons, Emotions, Pushing Away, Thoughts, Sensations)
- Self Care; Self-sooth using Vision, Hearing, Smell, Taste, Touch, Movement
- Introduction to Validation
- IMPROVE (Imagery, Meaning, Prayer, Relaxation, One thing in the moment, Vacation, Encouragement) the Moment, replacing a negative event with a more positive one.
- Pros and Cons – pros and cons of acting impulsively and not acting impulsively
- Radical Acceptance including acceptance exercises observing your breath, half-smile and awareness
- Turn the mind
- Willingness and willfulness
- Willing hands
- Intro to DEAR MAN – Learn to meet your objectives and maintain healthy relationships with DEAR (MAN, GIVE, and FAST)
- Introduction to diary cards
- Skills Consolidation and Review; Introduction to Advanced Courses
Intro to DBT is the prerequisite for the advanced DBT course.
We accommodate 2 spaces each group at a subsidized rate. If funds are an issue please contact us as we may be able to accommodate you now or in the future. We generally reserve these spots for those who are on ODSP or who are unemployed.
It is recommended that you have an individual therapist for the duration of the course. You will acquire more skills learning and be able to apply them more readily into your life if you have a DBT therapist for the period of the group. Dialectical Living has several therapists to provide one on one therapy for the 12 weeks. Our rates are very reasonable/accessible and we may be able to work on a sliding scale or make other arrangements depending on situation.
If you’re interested in individual therapy, please let us know as soon as possible before the start of group so that we can get you acquainted with your therapist.
Our next groups are coming up soon:
