Entry points onto the programme

Core Mindfulness: 19th June 2018 (Leytonstone) and 8th September 2018 (King's Cross)
Distress Tolerance: 17th July 2018 (Leytonstone) and 6th October 2018 (King's Cross)
Interpersonal (Relationship) Effectiveness: 30th July 2018 (Leytonstone) and 1st December 2018 (King's Cross)
Emotion Regulation: 9th June 2018 (King's Cross)
Advanced DBT Skills: To be confirmed

Where and When?

KING'S CROSS, CENTRAL LONDON: There are two DBT skills classes held on Saturdays: first one is between 10am and 12pm and the second one between 12:15pm and 1:45pm. These groups meet weekly in Islington at the Barnsbury Community Centre, 10 Jays Street, London, N1 0TJ. Nearest stations are Kings Cross, Caledonian Road or Caledonian Road & Barnsbury. The next 12-week class in Emotion Regulation Skills will begin on 9th June 2018. The fee is £80 per session (£960) for the 10am class and £70 per session (£840) for the 12:15pm class. Please note that the sessions will not be held on Saturdays that fall on or close to Bank Holidays, i.e. 25/08. The final session of this module will take place on 01/09. This class will followed by classes in Core Mindfulness, Distress Tolerance and Interpersonal (Relationship) Effectiveness.

LEYTONSTONE, EAST LONDON: Our week-day DBT classes are held on Mondays from 5:45pm to 7:15pm and Tuesdays from 1:30pm to 3:15pm at the United Free Church, 55 Wallwood Road, London, E11 1AY, which is a short distance away from Leytonstone station. The next 8-week class in Interpersonal Effectiveness Skills will begin on Monday 30th July and the fee is £560 (£70 x 8 sessions). Please note that the sessions will not be held on Mondays that fall on or close to Bank Holidays. It will be followed by classes in Core Mindfulness, Distress Tolerance and Emotion Regulation. The next Tuesday daytime class in Distress Tolerance Skills will begin on Tuesday 17th July and the fee for this class is £560 (£70 x 8 sessions). It will be followed by classes in Emotion Regulation, Interpersonal Effectiveness and Core Mindfulness.

What is Dialectical Behaviour Therapy?

Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT) is the most researched treatment for people who experience difficulties in regulating their emotions. It was originally developed by Dr Marsha Linehan for self-harming individuals who met criteria for Borderline Personality Disorder. DBT is effective for people who experience overwhelming emotions and want to learn more skillful ways of managing intense suffering, reduce disruptions to their personal relationships and social lives, decrease impulsivity and build lives that they will experience as worth living. DBT is a team-based programme that entails weekly individual therapy and skills classes, phone skills coaching to ensure generalisation and DBT team consultation*.

This intensive twice weekly therapy was proven effective in reducing suicidal behaviour, non-suicidal self-injury as well as improving social and overall functioning. DBT is now widely used as a treatment for eating and mood disorders, post-traumatic stress disorder and substance dependency. Research also suggests its effectiveness with sexual abuse survivors. We give people a choice of committing to the full programme, which entails both individual therapy and DBT classes or just DBT classes if they receive individual therapy elsewhere or are only interested in some of the DBT modules.

*The DBT consultation team is focused on the people who provide DBT, including individual therapists and skills trainers. The consultation team is intended to support them in their work and is designed to help therapists stay competent, motivated and adherent to the model so they can provide the best treatment possible. This is especially important when they are treating people with severe, complex, difficult-to-treat disorders so the team can help one another manage burnout and share their knowledge.

What will I learn?

There are 4 DBT skills modules which are based on the updated DBT Skills Training Manual by Marsha Linehan (2014). Each of these modules is to be attended as part of the full DBT programme. Modules in distress tolerance, emotion regulation and interpersonal effectiveness begin with a week of mindfulness. It takes 32 weeks to complete all the skills once.

• Core Mindfulness consists of 4 weekly sessions and is designed to teach you how to increase your awareness levels, focus better, train your attention, decrease reactivity and judgmentalness and be more accepting of current moment experiences.
• Distress Tolerance module lasts for 8 weeks and is centred on accepting difficult situations and emotions and finding ways to survive and tolerate the moment without engaging in problematic behaviours such as self-harm, conflict or impulsive substance misuse.
• Emotion Regulation entails 12 weekly classes and involves learning to recognise and label current emotions, identify obstacles to changing emotions, reduce emotional reactivity, increase positive emotions, and change emotions that are unhelpful or unwarranted.
• Interpersonal Effectiveness is spread over 8 weeks and teaches effective strategies for asking for what you need, saying no, setting boundaries and coping with interpersonal conflict. This module is of particular relevance to individuals who experience their relationships as chaotic, intense and unstable, and it teaches strategies for maintaining balanced relationships.
• Advanced DBT Skills is a 16-week module for people who have mastered the skills in each of the core modules listed above and now want to enhance their existing skills and learn new ones. In this module you will learn about the theory and practice of dialectical thinking, validation of self and others, ending hopeless relationships, adaptive denial and alternate rebellion, dialectical abstinence, building new bridges, mindfulness of others, reinforcement and strategies for changing behaviour, and many others. This module is also open to people who have completed DBT in the past.

How will I learn?

New skills are presented each week and homework is assigned for participants to practice during the week. Homework is reviewed at the next class. To enhance learning and effective application of newly acquired knowledge and skills people who commit to the full DBT programme will have access to phone skills coaching, which can be accessed at times of heightened distress 7 days a week. The goal of this is for people to get better at using the skills when they are needed most, such as during times of intense emotion, crisis or conflict.

Who should join the class?

There is no specific diagnostic requirement for participation in our DBT skills classes. Although DBT was originally developed for people meeting criteria for BPD, the skills we teach can help other people who experience problems with self-harm, extreme emotional sensitivity, mood swings, anger, recurrent depression, anxiety, intense or chaotic relationships, impulsivity and stress. All individuals interested in joining the full programme will be assessed by a member of the Mind-Reframed team to determine whether or not the group is an appropriate fit. Those who would like to attend only some modules without committing to individual DBT can provide a letter of recommendation from their psychiatrist or therapist outlining the history and reasons for referral. People who are on the full programme are given priority to join our Saturday 10:00 class. To be on the full DBT programme you need to have a simultaneous involvement in individual therapy with one of the Mind-Reframed team members.

Fees

The fee is £80 per 2-hour weekly Saturday class. The fee for the 90-minute DBT classes is £70 per session. 50% of the module fee must be paid at the time of booking to reserve the place as a non-refundable deposit. The remaining part of the fee is due a week before the official start date of the module. It is only possible to commit to the full module and the fees are payable for each of the sessions. This includes sessions that are not attended, missed or cancelled. The group fee is not refundable. Fees for individual DBT range from £80 to £135 per session. A small number of concessionary rates towards the skills classes is available to people in genuine financial difficulties who are embarking on the full twice weekly DBT programme.

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