Entry points onto the programme

OUR SKILLS CLASSES ARE NOW AVAILABLE VIA VIDEO CONFERENCING CALLS AS PER GOVERNMENT GUIDELINES TO REDUCE TRAVEL AND FACE TO FACE MEETINGS DUE TO COVID-19.

Distress Tolerance: 29th October (Online/Angel) and 19th December 2020
Emotion Regulation: 27th October (Online/Leytonstone) and 8th December (Online)
Interpersonal (Relationship) Effectiveness: 19th October (Online/Leytonstone) and 25th November 2020 (Online/Angel)
Core Mindfulness: 7th November (Online/King's Cross) and 14th December 2020 (Online/Leytonstone)
Interpersonal Skills in Action: To be confirmed

Where and When?

EACH OF THE BELOW CLASSES ARE AVAILABLE ONLINE UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE. DAYS AND TIMINGS REMAIN THE SAME.

KING'S CROSS, CENTRAL LONDON: We hold two DBT skills classes at Barnsbury Community Centre, 10 Jays Street, London, N1 0TJ on Saturdays: from 10am to 12pm or from 12:15pm to 1:45pm. People who are on the full programme are given priority to join the 10am class. Nearest stations are Kings Cross, Caledonian Road or Caledonian Road & Barnsbury. Please note that sessions will not be held on Saturdays that fall on or close to Bank Holidays, i.e. 26th December 2020, 2nd January 2021, 3rd April 2021, 1st and 29th May 2021.

• The next entry point into Saturday classes is on 7th November 2020 when we begin the 6-week module in Core Mindfulness Skills. The fee is £85 per session (£510) for the 10am class and £75 per session (£450) for the 12:15pm class. This class will be followed by modules in Distress Tolerance (19th December), Interpersonal Effectiveness (6th March) and Emotion Regulation Skills (15th May 2021).

LEYTONSTONE, EAST LONDON: DBT classes in this location are held on Mondays from 5:45pm to 7:15pm or Tuesdays from 1:30pm to 3:15pm at the United Free Church, 55 Wallwood Road, London, E11 1AY which is a short walk away from Leytonstone station.

• The next entry point into the Monday group is on 14th December when the 6-week class in Core Mindfulness Skills is scheduled to begin. The fee is £450 (£75 x 6 sessions). It will be followed by modules in Distress Tolerance (1st February 2021), Emotion Regulation (29th March 2021) and Interpersonal Effectiveness Skills (to be confirmed). Please note that sessions will not be held on Mondays that fall on Bank Holidays, i.e. 28th December 2020, 5th April, 3rd and 31st May 2021.

• The next entry point into the Tuesday 1:30pm group is on 27th October 2020 when the 12-week class in Emotion Regulation Skills is scheduled to begin. The fee for this class is £900 (£75 x 12 sessions). It will be followed by classes in Core Mindfulness (26th January 2021), Interpersonal Effectiveness (9th March 2021) and Distress Tolerance Skills (4th May 2021).

ANGEL, ISLINGTON: DBT skills classes are run in Angel on Wednesdays from 6pm to 8pm or Thursdays from 5:30pm to 7pm at Brighter Spaces, 2A Prebend Street, Islington, London, N1 8PT. People who are on the full programme are given priority to join the Wednesday group.

• The next entry point to the Wednesday group is on 25th November 2020 when the 8-week class in Interpersonal Effectiveness Skills is scheduled to begin. The fee for this class is £680 (£85 x 8 sessions). It will be followed by classes in Core Mindfulness (20th January 2021), Distress Tolerance Skills (3rd March 2021) and Emotion Regulation Skills (28th April 2021).

• The next entry point to the Thursday group is on 29th October 2020 when the 8-week class in Distress Tolerance Skills is scheduled to begin. The fee for this class is £600 (£75 x 8 sessions). It will be followed by modules Emotion Regulation (7th January 2021), Interpersonal Effectiveness (1st April 2021) and Core Mindfulness Skills (27th May 2021).

ONLINE VIA ZOOM: Currently all of our skills classes can be attended online via Zoom until further notice. The Tuesday 4pm-5:30pm or 6pm-7:30pm groups are offered permanently online and will continue to be provided online after the COVID-19 restrictions are lifted.

• The next entry points to the Tuesday 4pm and 6pm groups are on 8th December 2020 when the 12-week class in Emotion Regulation Skills is scheduled to begin and the fee is £900 (£75 x 12 sessions). It will be followed by classes in Interpersonal Effectiveness (2nd March 2021), Core Mindfulness (27th April 2021) and Distress Tolerance Skills (to be confirmed).

• The next 10-week Interpersonal Skills in Action module will begin on 19th October 2020 and be held weekly on Mondays from 6pm to 7:30pm via Zoom. The fee is £75 per session (£750).

What is Dialectical Behaviour Therapy?

Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT) is one of the most researched treatments for people with difficulties in regulating their emotions. It was originally developed by Dr Marsha Linehan for self-harming individuals who met criteria for borderline personality disorder (BPD). DBT is a team-based programme which entails weekly individual therapy and a skills class, access to phone skills coaching available seven days a week and DBT team consultation*. Clients who are unable to commit to the twice weekly programme can attend the skills classes alone without one-to-one sessions subject to the assessment.

*DBT team consultation 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.

What will I learn?

There are four core DBT modules which are attended as part of the full DBT programme. It takes 34 weeks to complete them all once, however, as the research studies conducted on DBT for BPD have all included one year of this intensive treatment, we recommend that clients commit to DBT for at least one year. This is subject to individual circumstances. Clients whose goals revolve particularly around enhancing their relationships are encouraged to attend the optional 10-week 'Interpersonal Skills in Action' module.

• Core Mindfulness and the Middle Path consists of 6 weekly sessions and is designed to teach you how to increase your awareness levels, decrease reactivity and judgmentalness, focus better, train your attention, accept current moment experiences and be more compassionate towards yourself. This module will also teach you how to avoid taking extreme positions and instead acknowledge the validity of different positions and others' perspectives.
• 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, substance misuse or other impulsive behaviours. You will learn how to respond to stressful and overwhelming emotions by engaging both your body and mind in the process. This module will cover both strategies of change and acceptance.
• Emotion Regulation entails 12 weekly classes and involves learning to recognise and label current emotions, identify obstacles to changing emotions, reduce emotional vulnerability and reactivity, increase positive emotions, and change emotions that are unhelpful or unwarranted. This module will also teach you how to gradually decrease avoidance of feelings and become comfortable experiencing emotions that are warranted.
• Interpersonal Effectiveness is spread over 8 weeks and teaches strategies for asking for what you need, saying no, setting boundaries and coping with interpersonal conflict in a way that influences others whilst enhancing the relationship and your self-respect. 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.
• Interpersonal Skills in Action is a 10-week stand-alone course for people who want to enhance their interpersonal skills, improve existing relationships and build new ones. In this module you will learn about the theory and practice of dialectical thinking, balancing opposites, validation of self and others, recovering from invalidation, building new relationships, getting people to like you, effective communication, ending hopeless relationships, mindfulness of others, reinforcement and strategies for changing behaviour. There will also be two practice sessions to immerse yourself in the application of the skills. You will also be able to bring your own real life scenarios and receive suggestions from the group trainer on how to approach them skillfully.

How will I learn?

DBT classes are designed to be intensive and interactive, not where you passively listen to the facilitator. You can expect to be challenged by the didactics, demonstrations and discussions. The aim of this approach is to encourage you to use this coaching to help you maximise your use of the tools that you will be learning. New skills are presented each week and homework tasks are 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 seven 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 the DBT programme. Although DBT was originally developed for people who criteria for BPD and proven effective in reducing suicidal behaviour, self-injury, impulsivity, disruptions to personal relationships and improving social functioning, the skills we teach can also help other people who experience challenges with extreme emotional sensitivity, mood swings, anger, recurrent depression, intense or chaotic relationships and stress. DBT is also applied as a treatment for some eating and mood disorders, post-traumatic stress, childhood sexual abuse and substance dependency, and is now the go-to treatment for improving emotional regulation skills in those diagnosed with anxiety and ADHD or ADD.

How to begin?

All individuals interested in joining the full programme will be assessed by a member of the Mind-Reframed team. Following assessment you will be offered a few individual pre-treatment sessions that focus on psycho-education, coming up with your targets for treatment and establishing commitment. This can be anything between one and six sessions depending on individual needs before joining the skills classes. Those who would like to attend only some modules without committing to individual DBT can provide a letter of recommendation from their psychiatrist, GP or therapist outlining the history and reasons for referral.

Fees

Fees for the intensive DBT programme (individual therapy, skills class and phone skills coaching) range between £175 and £235 a week. It is also possible to commit to attending the DBT skills groups alone for which the fee is £85 per 2-hour class and £75 per 90-minute class.

To reserve the place in the skills group 50% of the module fee must be paid at the time of booking which is non-refundable. 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 a full module and the fees are payable for each of the sessions. This includes sessions that are not attended, missed or cancelled. To find out more about our fees please visit the FEES section of this website. A small number of concessionary rates towards the skills classes is available to people in genuine financial difficulties who are embarking on the twice weekly DBT programme.

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