Dialectical Behavior Therapy

Consumers who receive traditional therapy services generally receive the appropriate help to meet his or her emotional and psychological needs. However, consumers who have severe psychiatric or personality disorders, or are parasuicidal, require a more intensive treatment to overcome their emotional and psychological obstacles.

Taylor Life Center  goes beyond the traditional therapy, and offers Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) to individuals when other treatment options are not meeting his or her needs.

What is Dialectical Behavior Therapy?
Dialectical Behavior Therapy is an intensive treatment program designed for individuals who meet the following medical criteria:

  • Borderline Personality Disorder or other psychiatric and personality disorder accompanied by parasuicidal behavior
  • Severe persistent mental illness, or substance use disorder
  • Axis I diagnosis of a major mood disorder, substance-related disorder, or post-traumatic stress disorder

Additional functional deficits include

  • Difficulty maintaining relationships
  • Difficultly in meeting educational or occupational performance demands
  • Patterns of unstable relationships characterized by alternating between idealization and devaluation
  • Intense emotional instability
  • Difficulty controlling anger, as evidenced by angry outbursts, constant anger, or physical fights

How will Dialectical Behavior Therapy help?
In order for a consumer to improve socially, emotionally, and psychologically, it is imperative he or she commits to all steps in the DBT program. The DBT program is a yearlong therapy process, which requires consumers to attend one two-hour group skills classes, along with one hour of individual therapy each week.

Parents of adolescents involved in the DBT program are required to attend group skills training class once per week, as well as be involved in individual therapy sessions at the discretion of the therapist.

During group skills classes, consumers receive training and education in the following key areas:

  • Core Mindfulness Skills—Derived from Buddhist meditation techniques, these skills enable consumers to become aware of the different aspects of experience, and to develop the ability to stay in the moment of that experience.
  • Interpersonal Effectiveness Skills—These skills focus on effective ways of achieving objectives with other people, including effectively asking for help, maintaining relationships, and self-esteem.
  • Distress Tolerance Skills—These skills provide different techniques for understanding, and accepting distressing situations if there is no conceivable solution present.
  • Emotion Regulation Skills—These skills are ways of coping with intense emotional experiences and their causes. They also allow for an adaptive experience and expression of intense emotions.

Additional services:

  • 24-hour On-Call Response— prevents escalation of crisis behaviors and unnecessary hospitalization. 
  • Peer Support Specialists—co-facilitate skills training and provide other support services.

Research indicates that consumers who fully participate and engage in DBT experience fewer in-patient psychiatric hospital stays, reduced treatment drop-out, and less self-harm behaviors.

DBT is currently offered at our Flint location on Beecher Rd. Call (866) 975-6382 to learn how to qualify for DBT services.

Attention: If you are experiencing a crisis or want to hurt yourself, or someone else, please call 9-1-1 immediately.