All Ages DBT Skills Training Class

Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) skills teach individuals how to manage their emotions, relationships, and distress in effective and meaningful ways.  Emotional sensitivity and/or chronic invalidation can cause individuals to develop maladaptive coping styles in attempts to manage emotions. Through a compassionate approach, DBT helps individuals to re-train themselves with healthier skills in order to build a more meaningful life while avoiding destructive behavior. 

This class is designed to help you cope better with any of the following symptoms:

Emotional Instability

  •  A Pattern of Unstable Relationships 

  • Chronic Feelings of Emptiness 

  • Strong Reactivity to Stress 

  • Difficulty Controlling and Letting Go of Emotions 

  • Intense Fear of Abandonment 

  • Self Esteem Issues

  • Mood-Driven and Impulsive Behaviors

  • Depression, Anxiety, Trauma and Grief Issues 

While these skills are an invaluable part of building a life with less suffering, these psycho-educational classes are not a replacement for therapy. Therefore it is strongly recommend that participants be involved in concurrent outpatient counseling.

About Classes

Skills training education is focused on three separate modules: Emotion Regulation (10 week course), Distress Tolerance  (10 week course) and Interpersonal Effectiveness (8 week course); Each module incorporates the core skill of Mindfulness.  Classes are held weekly on Zoom from 6:00 to 7:30 on Thursday evenings.  Enrollment is open at the beginning of each module. Each group begins with a mindfulness exercise, a review of the previous week’s lesson and introduction of new material.  Brief homework is assigned to help individuals practice and reinforce the skills during the week. With your permission, your therapist would receive an email from the skills trainer weekly, identifying what skills were taught and what homework was assigned so that you might also get direct support from your therapist while learning these skills. These classes are appropriate for individuals 16 and older. Family support is also offered if a participant is between the ages of 16 and 18 and/or living at home. My Family DBT Bootcamp is another option for individuals in this age range.


Benefits of DBT 

DBT is an evidence-based method that has been proven to help individuals make positive and long term behavioral changes by replacing ineffective coping strategies with DBT skills. Goals of DBT include replacing destructive behaviors with healthier means of coping, increasing and enhancing emotion regulation, distress tolerance, interpersonal effectiveness and mindfulness skills to create a life worth living.  

About Each Skill

Mindfulness Skills focus on the quality of our awareness and presence in life.  Mindfulness helps train us to decrease self-defeating thoughts and prolonged worries about the future as well as depressive thoughts about the past. 

Emotion Regulation Skills help us to identify and label current emotions, identify obstacles to changing emotions, reduce emotional reactivity, decrease emotional intensity and accumulate more positive emotions.

Distress Tolerance Skills concentrate on accepting the current reality and finding ways to survive and tolerate the moment without making things worse.  While all other modules focus on building a life worth living, distress tolerance skills teach us how to avoid tearing apart our life. 

Interpersonal Effectiveness Skills teach us to better identify and more effectively ask for what we need, set limits while enhancing relationships and resolve interpersonal conflict. 

All Ages Program Pricing and Payment Information

Participants can sign up prior to the beginning of each module. At this time you will schedule a screening interview and orientation with Kristen Joyce. Payment for this session is required at that time. Payment for each module is required prior to the beginning of the classes.

  • Screening Interview and Orientation - $140.00 (one 50 - 60 minute session)

  • Emotion Regulation Module - $700.00 (Ten 90 minute classes)

  • Interpersonal Effectiveness Module - $560.00 (Eight 90 minute classes)

  • Distress Tolerance Module - $700.00 (Ten 90 minute classes)

To Learn More About Enrollment

For more information or to apply for enrollment, please contact Kristen Joyce.  Participants will complete a required screening interview/orientation session prior to enrollment in the group.