Entry points onto the programme

Interpersonal (Relationship) Effectiveness: 22nd January 2019 (Leytonstone)
Emotion Regulation: 7th January 2019 (Leytonstone) and 9th February 2019 (King's Cross)
Core Mindfulness: 18th May 2019 (King's Cross)
Distress Tolerance: 6th July 2019 (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. People who are on the full programme are given priority to join our Saturday 10:00 class. The 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 February 2019. 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 20th April and 4th May. This class will be followed by modules in Core Mindfulness, Distress Tolerance and Interpersonal 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 12-week class in Emotion Regulation Skills will begin on Monday 7th January 2019. The fee is £840 (£70 x 12 sessions). It will be followed by classes in Interpersonal Effectiveness, Core Mindfulness and Distress Tolerance. The next Tuesday daytime 8-week class in Interpersonal Effectiveness Skills will begin on Tuesday 22nd January 2019 and the fee for this class is £560 (£70 x 8 sessions). It will be followed by classes in Distress Tolerance, Emotion Regulation and Core Mindfulness Skills.

What is Dialectical Behaviour Therapy?

Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT) is the most researched treatment 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. DBT is a team-based programme which entails weekly individual therapy and skills classes, phone skills coaching available seven days a week and DBT team consultation*. It was proven effective in reducing suicidal behaviour, self-injury, impulsivity, disruptions to personal relationships and improving social and overall functioning. DBT is also applied as a treatment for eating and mood disorders, post-traumatic stress disorder, childhood sexual abuse and substance dependency.

*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. This is especially important when treating people with severe, complex and difficult-to-treat disorders so the team can help one another manage burnout and share their knowledge.

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 one year. This is subject to individual circumstances.

• Core Mindfulness and Middle Path consists of 6 weekly sessions and is designed to teach you how to increase your awareness levels, focus better, train your attention, decrease reactivity and judgmentalness, accept current moment experiences, be more dialectical and less controlled by extremes.
• 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 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 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.

How to begin?

All individuals interested in joining the full programme will be assessed by a member of the Mind-Reframed team. 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

The fee is £80 per 2-hour weekly Saturday class and £70 for the 90-minute DBT classes. To reserve the place 50% of the module fee must be paid at the time of booking 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. 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 twice weekly DBT programme.

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