The weekly skills training group is the part of Comprehensive DBT where you learn DBT skills, much as you would in a class. It runs alongside your individual therapy, phone coaching and our consultation team, and each part has its own job. Behavioral Tech describes the group’s job as building capability: teaching skills you do not have yet, or do not yet use when you need them [1].
Our skills groups meet by telehealth, so adults anywhere in Texas can join from home.
The four DBT skills modules
DBT skills training covers four modules, set out in Linehan’s DBT Skills Training Manual [2]:
- Mindfulness. Noticing what is happening in you and around you, right now, without judging it. The other three modules build on it.
- Distress tolerance. Getting through a crisis without making it worse, and accepting what cannot be changed in the moment.
- Emotion regulation. Understanding your emotions, becoming less vulnerable to painful ones, and changing the ones you want to change.
- Interpersonal effectiveness. Asking for what you need, saying no, and handling conflict while keeping your relationships and your self-respect.
How DBT classes usually run
In standard DBT, the skills group meets once a week for about two to two and a half hours. Covering all four modules takes about 24 weeks, and many programs run the cycle twice so the full course lasts a year [1][3][4]. Your clinician will confirm our current group schedule at intake.
Between sessions you practice the skills as homework, which is how they start to carry over into daily life [5]. Each group reviews that practice before teaching the next skill.
Why the skills group is part of Comprehensive DBT
In Linehan’s 2015 component trial, the two treatment arms that included skills training did better on self-injury, depression and anxiety than individual DBT therapy without skills training [6].
A separate analysis of 108 women across three of Linehan’s trials found that people in DBT were using about three times as many skills by the end of treatment as people in other treatments, and that this skills use accounted for their drop in suicide attempts and depression [7].
Learning a skill in group is the first step. Phone coaching helps you use it in the moment, and your individual therapist helps you fit it to your own life. That is why we teach DBT skills inside the full model.
Find out if DBT is right for you
The way to know which level of care fits is to talk it through with us. Call (817) 214-7200 or send us a message, and we will arrange a full intake and assessment with one of our clinicians.
Frequently asked questions
Can I join the skills group without individual therapy?
Sometimes. Skills-group-only care is not evidence-based in every case, so it is decided at a full intake and assessment. Read about DBT-informed treatment.
Are your DBT classes online?
Yes. If you have been looking for online DBT classes or DBT groups near me, our skills groups meet by telehealth for adults across Texas.
What does the skills group cost?
Group therapy and intake fees are listed on our fees page.
What are DBT skills used for?
DBT skills are practical tools for strong emotions, crises and relationships. They are taught in the same four modules whatever brings you to treatment [2].
Related reading
- What is Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT)? and the research behind it
- Why adherence and fidelity matter in Comprehensive DBT treatment
- Comprehensive DBT for suicidal ideation
- Meet our clinicians
- Our fees, including group therapy and intake fees
- All therapy services and areas we serve
The four parts of Comprehensive DBT
Not sure which level of care fits? Read about DBT-informed treatment or go back to What is DBT?
Take the next step
Call (817) 214-7200, email info@ntxdbt.com, or use our contact form to request an intake. Our team will answer your questions and help you decide on the right next step.
In crisis? Call or text 988 to reach the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline, free and confidential at any hour. If you are in immediate danger, call 911.
Sources
- Behavioral Tech Institute. What is DBT? https://behavioraltech.org/dialectical-behavior-therapy-dbt/
- Linehan, M. M. DBT Skills Training Manual. Guilford Press. https://www.guilford.com/books/DBT-Skills-Training-Manual/Marsha-Linehan/9781462516995
- U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families. Title IV-E Prevention Services Clearinghouse: Dialectical Behavior Therapy. https://preventionservices.acf.hhs.gov/programs/470/show
- May, J. M., Richardi, T. M., and Barth, K. S. (2016). Dialectical behavior therapy as treatment for borderline personality disorder. Mental Health Clinician, 6(2), 62-67. https://doi.org/10.9740/mhc.2016.03.62
- Connecticut Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services. Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT). https://portal.ct.gov/dmhas/initiatives/evidence-based/dbt
- Linehan, M. M., et al. (2015). Dialectical behavior therapy for high suicide risk in individuals with borderline personality disorder: a randomized clinical trial and component analysis. JAMA Psychiatry, 72(5), 475-482. https://doi.org/10.1001/jamapsychiatry.2014.3039
- Neacsiu, A. D., Rizvi, S. L., and Linehan, M. M. (2010). Dialectical behavior therapy skills use as a mediator and outcome of treatment for borderline personality disorder. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 48(9), 832-839. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.brat.2010.05.017