Dr. Linehan found that it was impossible to effectively treat negative behaviors and moods and teach effective coping skills and strategies in the context of once-weekly individual therapy sessions. Thus, the DBT skills training group was developed with the sole purpose of teaching skills, leaving how to generalize these skills to daily life to the individual therapy session.
Skills training consists of weekly 90-minute sessions. Unlike conventional support or process-oriented groups, skills training sessions are conducted more like a class. The focus is on acquiring skills to decrease negative emotions and behaviors and increase the effective behavior necessary to build a more satisfying life.
Each participant receives curriculum materials describing the skills, along with corresponding homework assignments. Sessions are begun with a mindfulness practice, followed by homework review and new skills instruction. Finally, brief homework material is assigned to extend the teaching to real life situations through practice of skills.
WCDBT offers day time, after school and evening groups for adults, adolescents and families. Group size is generally eight to ten people. Adult training consists of four sets of skills modules: (1) Core Mindfulness Skills, (2) Distress Tolerance Skills, (3) Interpersonal Effectiveness Skills, and (4) Emotion Regulation Skills. Adolescent and family groups include a fifth module, “Walking the Middle Path”.
All participants in skills training must be in individual therapy. Group members often find it helpful to share curriculum materials in their individual therapy sessions to explore with their therapists how to apply the skills learned to their particular challenges.