DBT Crash Course for Clinicians: 15 Core Techniques to Improve Emotional Regulation, Manage Distress and More

CPD

Planning Committee Disclosure - No relevant relationships

All members of the PESI, Inc. planning committee have provided disclosures of financial relationships with ineligible organizations and any relevant non-financial relationships prior to planning content for this activity. None of the committee members had relevant financial relationships with ineligible companies or other potentially biasing relationships to disclose to learners.  For speaker disclosures, please see the faculty biography.

Handouts

Faculty

Alexa Mulee, LMHC, C-DBT Related seminars and products

Wise Mind Counseling, LLC

---

Lexi Mulee, LMHC, C-DBT, founder of Wise Mind Counseling specializes in Dialectical Behavioral Therapy and applies it in her work with populations with borderline personality disorder, eating disorders, and substance use disorders, more specifically within the LGBTQ youth community. Lexi got her undergraduate degree at Hofstra University and pursued her graduate degree at the University of Miami. Lexi has been in the field for over 10 years and works extensively with each client to ensure their unique goals are being met. Having both experiences working at the inpatient level of care and the outpatient level of care, Lexi works uniquely with each client to ensure that their treatment is never one size fits all, but rather personalized for each individual’s needs and strengths. Lexi understands that navigating the world in 2024 as a member of the LGBTQIA community comes with its unique set of challenges and hurdles, and strives to create a safe space for clients to explore themselves, their individualized challenges and hurdles, and strives to create a safe space for clients to explore themselves, their individualized challenges, and their newfound skills to live a more effective, and thriving life!

 

Speaker Disclosures:
Financial: Alexa Mulee has employment relationships with Wise Mind Counseling, LLC. and Inter-Care. She receives a speaking honorarium and recording royalties from PESI, Inc. She has no relevant financial relationships with ineligible organizations.
Non-financial: Alexa Mulee is a member of the American Counseling Association.

Additional Info

If you have any questions please reach out to info@pesi.au.com .    

Objectives

1. Gain a comprehensive understanding of the origins and foundational concepts of Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT).
2. Develop an understanding of the neurobiology of emotional dysregulation and how DBT interventions can effectively address it.
3. Discuss the effectiveness of DBT in reducing self-directed violence, including suicide attempts, non-suicidal self injury (NSSI), and accessing psychiatric crisis services.
4. Apply validation strategies in DBT to enhance therapeutic rapport and promote positive change.
5. Utilize mindfulness exercises for emotional regulation and symptom management in DBT practice.
6. Evaluate the effectiveness of DBT with a diverse range of clients including individuals with substance use disorders, anxiety, and depression.

Outline

DBT Foundations and Fundamentals

• Main goals and history as an evidencebased treatment
• DBT practice components and the 4 modules of DBT
• Balancing acceptance and change
• Validation skills to build a therapeutic alliance
• The effectiveness of DBT for clients with depression, anxiety, SUDs, and more
• Realities of DBT for clinicians – potential benefits and drawbacks
• DBT skills training for suicidal clients
• Research, limitations, and treatment risks
• Indications, contraindications, costs, and alternative treatments

DBT Mindfulness Techniques: Enhance Treatment through Client Awareness and Acceptance

• “Wise mind” in decision making and problem solving
• One Mindful: fully engage in the present moment without distraction
• Pocket Mindfulness: brief exercises to manage stress and regulate emotions
• Cultivating acceptance and letting go of self-judgement and criticism

5 DBT Techniques to Manage Distress and Shift Perspectives

• Riding the Wave exercise to navigate emotional turbulence
• Radical Acceptance of distressing situations without judgement or resistance
• Using the STOP techniques to interrupt automatic patterns
• How to teach clients to better manage intense emotions with the TIPP technique
• Using ACCEPTS to help clients develop healthier coping skills

The DBT Toolkit for Emotional Regulation and Coping

• The connection between emotions and physical sensations
• Exercises to enhance emotional awareness and recognition
• Opposite action skill to change emotional responses
• Checking the facts skill to challenge emotional assumptions and biases

Interpersonal Effectiveness Skills for Better Communications and Boundary Setting

• Emotional Bank Account - build and maintain positive emotional connections
• Using the DEARMAN technique for effective communication
• Assertive skills for saying “No” and setting boundaries
• Using the Alternate Rebellion technique to help clients who struggle with oppositional behaviour

Other Key Clinical Considerations: Skills Groups, Integration Strategies and Culturally Adapted Practices

• Using DBT individually or with skills groups
• Best practices in conducting culturally adapted DBT interventions
• Integrating and prioritising DBT skills into a provider’s treatment as usual

Case Studies and Demonstrations

Target Audience

• Counsellors
• Social Workers
• Art Therapists
• Marriage & Family Therapists
• Addiction Counsellors
• Psychologists
• Psychotherapists
• Case Managers
• Physicians
• Nurses
• Mental Health Professionals