What are DBT skills?

I often use DBT skills with people at the beginning of treatment, I also teach at Sunderland uni around DBT informed approaches too. I first trained in DBT (Dialectical behavioural therapy) in 2011, it’s a treatment that to get full programme is delivered as part of a team. You would get weekly groups in skills training, a weekly therapy session which looks at life threatening behaviours, like self harm, therapy interfering behaviours or Life interfering behaviours. You would also get access to telephone support to get help using the skills. As a lone practitioner I can’t offer the full programme, but I do teach skills, in mindfulness, managing distress, managing and understanding emotions and getting better at relationships and I use the chaining of behaviour to help people work out what skills to use and when. The idea is that if you get really good at the skills, they can become unconscious and you over time use them, rather than making bad decisions that put you at risk.

Whilst this treatment was initially developed to use with people who have personality disorders, namely EUPD or borderline, lots of people could do with getting better at this stuff, managing emotions/ distress, getting better in relationships and mindfulness which frankly works well for everyone. These skills and this work when delivered by a lone practitioner are only DBT informed, but work really well. Once stable then we can do the work using EMDR, which tackles the events that led to the skills deficits.

It’s really rewarding working with people like this, and can be life changing.