Dialectal Behavior Therapy

Although DBT was originally developed for mentally ill people, it has come a long way. Many people outside of the mental health community as well as those who have graduated from DBT programs are finding that the life skills of DBT can be transformational to a much broader group of people. Building on the success of DBTs foundational cognitive skil... ls practices, we are working to form weekly group meetings nationwide, in which anyone who experiences emotional pain and insecurity in their lives can come together and support one another to persevere in ongoing personal growth. As self-help groups are established, they will be published in this section. How the idea got started: DBT Self Help started as a brainstorm by some of the members of a DBT Skills listserv. After years of participating online with other people interested in DBT, we found that those who had graduated from DBT programs wanted more. They craved "live" ongoing support so that they could continue on the path of healing precipitated by DBT. We found that the nature of DBT skills practice is helpful not only to people in crisis, but also lends itself to transcendence - a cognitive method which any person in the world could use to help themselves improve their quality of life. From this discussion emerged a small group of people who had the drive, the commitment and the means to gradually put these ideas to action, thus this website. Our long term goal is to organize a means whereby people could attend weekly meetings focused entirely on the DBT skills and facilitated by peer groups. We have no interest in replacing existing clinical DBT groups and counseling programs. We are not qualified to do so. Our focus is not on curing mental illness. Our focus is to work with people who are already at a significant stage of recovery and provide a means to facilitate ongoing healthy life practices.Read More