DBT is an evidence-based treatment that helps people who are biologically and environmentally predisposed to emotional vulnerability. Emotional vulnerability often comes with a high sensitivity and quick reactivity to emotional situations,  ineffective or extreme responses, and often requires a longer period of time to return back to baseline. This transaction is often prescribed as an emotional roller coaster or a constant state of crisis leaving people feeling out of control and hopeless.

DBT was developed in the 1970s by Marsha Linehan as a way to treat the symptoms of Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD). The therapy, a modification of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), was designed to help people engaging in self-endangering behaviors such as cutting, suicidal thoughts and suicide attempts. Since this time, DBT has been found to be an evidenced based treatment for multiple disorders and symptom presentations and can help teach skills to control behaviors, fully experience emotions, solve ordinary life problems, and feel a sense of connection to others and the world.

Components of DBT:

1. Individual Therapy: Patients meet with a DBT therapist at least once a week for  a 60-minute individual therapy session. Sessions are structured and focus on balancing acceptance and behavioral change. 

2. Skills Group: Patients participate in weekly DBT skills groups that teach the following skills: Mindfulness, Interpersonal Effectiveness, Distress Tolerance, and Emotion Regulation. Skills groups meet for 2 hours, 1 time per week, for a minimum of 24 weeks for teens and 52 weeks for adults. For adolescents, parents are required to attend the skills group alongside their child in a Multifamily Skills Group. 

3. Phone Coaching: Patients and parents have 24/7 access to their individual therapist for phone coaching to help support the generalization of skills to real life. 

4. Consultation Team: All therapists providing comprehensive DBT are required to participate in a DBT Consultation Team. This ensures that all therapists have the support they need to provide outstanding treatment. 

Adherence Matters:

ROCDBT is a DBT-Linehan Board of Certification™ Certified DBT Program, which means that we have undergone an extensive evaluation to ensure that we meet the standards of the adherence to the evidence-based protocol of comprehensive DBT. Additionally clinicians at ROCDBT have specialized from BehavioralTech (BTech), the world's leading organization for expert DBT trainers. All clinicians at ROCDBT are foundationally trained in DBT through BTech and some have additional areas of training such as trauma, substance abuse, etc.)

Recent data presented at the International Society for the Improvement and Teaching of DBT (ISITDBT) showed that adherence to DBT decreased suicide attempts by almost double and predicts a lower likelihood of treatment dropout. We also know that adherence to the model increases patient outcomes. 

Many of our patients have a history of multiple types of treatments. They may have even been exposed to some DBT skills or strategies, however, providing a comprehensive DBT program ensures that all patients and their families are receiving services in a way that conforms to Dr. Marsha Linehan’s evidence-based research. DBT-informed treatment does not share the same results.