2SLGBTQIA+ Adult DBT Skills Groups
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Group Structure
This DBT Skills group is designed to teach the core skills of Dialectical Behavior Therapy through a neurodiverse and queer/trans affirming lens. The group is divided into three modules, each with two weeks of mindfulness training at the beginning to learn the Core Mindfulness skills of DBT. In addition, the group utilizes both the revised edition of the DBT Skills Manual by Marsha Linehan and The Neurodivergent Friendly Workbook of DBT Skills by Sonny Jane Wise.
Each group is 90 minutes long, consisting of mindfulness practice, reviewing the previous week's homework, learning new skills for the week, and assigning dhomework for the next week. -
DBT Modules
Core Mindfulness: these skills teach self-awareness, how to observe your emotions, be less judgmental of yourself and others, and find the middle path between black and white, all-or-nothing thinking.
Distress Tolerance: These skills teach you how to tolerate and survive crises without making them worse. They teach you how to accept reality as it is to reduce suffering, and have the possibility of change and moving forward
Emotion Regulation: These skills teach you how to understand/name emotions and how to take care of yourself to avoid being in crisis. They help you change emotions that you (not other people) want to change, or to reduce the intensity of your emotions.
Interpersonal Effectiveness: These skills help you build new relationships, strengthen current ones, and deal with conflict situations. They help you effectively ask for what you want and say no to unwanted requests.
Walking the Middle Path: Balancing acceptance and change in relationships, validation of others, and self-validation, and how to recover from invalidation.
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Neurodivergent Friendly DBT Skills
Mindfulness: Accessible mindfulness exercises.
Distress Tolerance: Mapping and managing meltdowns, and how to recognize early warning signs of a meltdown. Ideas for sensory self-soothing and improving the environment to reduce sensory overload.
Emotion Regulation: Understanding the window of tolerance and identifying the states of arousal, and skills for how to act intentionally on your emotions.
Managing Sensory Needs: Understanding hypersensitivity vs hyposensitivity, and identifying signs of sensory overload.
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Requirements to Join the group
NW DBT requires all group members to have an individual therapist. Some the therapists at NW DBT are accepting new clients, and can also provide referrals for outside therapists.
NW DBT does not accept and does not bill insurance for group. However, Stace can provide monthly superbill that you can submit to your insurance provider for potential out-of-network reimbursement. If you would like to check with your insurance company about their coverage, the billing code for DBT group is 90853.
The rate is $100 per weekly group meeting. Stace offers a sliding scale fee if the cost of the group is a burden. Please mention this when reaching out to inquire about joining the group.
The full curriculum runs 24 weeks, and we require a commitment to attend for the 24 weeks. Gold-Standard DBT recommends two consecutive cycles (1-year).
The 2SLGBTQIA+ adult DBT groups run on Tuesdays from 11:30am-1:00pm and the 5pm-6:30pm group will begin on December 9th. All groups are meeting remotely for the time being via zoom.
The group has open enrollment, which means you can schedule a group orientation intake session ($190 one-time fee or sliding scale if needed) and then join the group.
Participants will need to purchase the DBT Skills Training Handouts and Worksheets, Revised Edition (Paperback) by Linehan, Marsha M., PhD, ABPP.