Individual Skills Training

Behaviors that we want to change and see as ‘problems’ have evolved to help us cope or problem solve situations in our lives. These behaviors can provide short-term relief, however they are not long-term solutions and typically create additional suffering and new problems. In DBT we hold the belief that people are doing the best they can, AND they need to learn new behaviors and be willing to use them in all situations if one wants to feel and live differently.

The DBT Skills were created and designed to help enhance a persons abilities. They are the foundation of DBT and arguably the most important element in helping a person change behaviors that are no longer serving them. There are four modules of skills taught in DBT:

• Mindfulness: The practice of being fully present and aware in the present moment without judgement.

• Distress Tolerance: How to tolerate the pain in a moment, without making the situation worse

• Interpersonal Effectiveness: How to make requests, and increase the likelihood of getting your needs meet; Say no while maintaining self-respect and relationships with others

• Emotion Regulation: Become more familiar with emotions and their function and learn tools to change emotions that you want to change.

In a skills training session we will focus on learning, practicing and generalizing these invaluable skills to all areas of your life.