Robin Day, LPC

VIRTUAL DIALECTICAL BEHAVIOR THERAPY (DBT) COPING SKILLS GROUPS FOR WOMEN

Make Your Therapy More Effective by Participating in a DBT Coping Skills Group – Telehealth or Virtual
Unfortunately, therapy and medications aren’t always enough. Sometimes feeling better is all about changing your thoughts and your behaviors. I teach coping skills that help participants to reduce intense and painful emotions, such as rage, panic, despair, and shame. Learning these skills can benefit people with a wide variety of diagnoses and difficulties:

  • Borderline Personality
  • Bipolar Disorder
  • Depression
  • Posttraumatic Stress Disorder
  • Dissociative Identity Disorder
  • Substance Dependence
  • Eating Disorders
  • Anxiety Disorders
Group Therapy

Virtual groups are kept small (up to 9 participants) and informal. I have weekly daytime, evening, and Saturday groups available. Groups are designed to augment individual or family therapy. Groups are based on Dialectical Behavior Therapy, both traditional DBT and Radically Open DBT

DBT Skills include:

Mindfulness:  Being in the “here and now.” Reducing self-criticism

Distress Tolerance:  Decreasing emotional pain and avoiding self-destructive behaviors

Emotion Regulation:  Changing the course of negative feelings in the long term

Interpersonal Effectiveness:  Managing relationships with assertiveness and increased connection

Radically Open DBT Skills:  Radically Open DBT was designed to help problems of over-control:  perfectionism, obsessive-compulsive disorder, undereating, overworking, excessive shame, rigidity in relationships.  These skills help you to be more flexible overall, accept feedback from others, and fit-in with groups (workplace, family, etc.) better.

Who Can Attend and Times of Groups:

I provide telehealth and virtual DBT Groups for Women in Georgia and Florida. Members can change group times as their schedules change. I offer the following group times for women of ALL ages:

Wed 10:30a – 12p
Wed 5:30p – 7p
Wed 7p – 8:30p
Thurs 10a – 11:30a
Thurs 11:30a – 1p
Thurs 6p – 7:30p
Sat 10a – 11:30am

On Saturdays at 1:30p – 3p I offer a group for women age 18 to 29. However, women under age 30 can attend ANY of the above groups.

I do not offer DBT Groups for men/boys. I do not offer DBT Groups for teenagers.

What is the time commitment for the group?

Groups meet weekly for 1.5 hrs.

I teach all of the above skills over the course of 24 weeks. However, participants are not financially committed to the entire course. You and your therapist can decide how long you stay in the group. Some participants stay in the group for a year or more so that they learn the skills well and can use them automatically.

How do I get started?

In order to enroll in a group, you must complete an individual initial assessment with me. This takes an hour and can be scheduled for your convenience. After your assessment is completed and it is determined that you may benefit from the group, you can join any group that has openings. There is no need to wait for the “beginning” of a group; participants join and leave groups when they are ready.

What is the cost of the group?

  • All group participants must complete an individual assessment before beginning the group. The cost for this is $110.
  • The weekly fee is $35. I do charge $35 even if you miss a group as a “holding your space” fee. Charging for missed groups allows me to keep my fees lower overall. Payment is due in cash, check, credit card, or Venmo, on or before group meetings. I charge a small “convenience fee” to process credit card payments.
  • I charge a $70 deposit at your second group. I will use this deposit your last two weeks of group as long as you give me a two week notice of finishing/discontinuing the group.

Am I required to be under the care of an individual or family therapist while I am in the group?

Yes. Group participants are required to also attend individual or family therapy while in the group. You learn coping skills in my group, but your therapist can help you utilize these skills in your everyday life.

What happens in a Coping Skills Group?

The group meets each week for 1.5 hours. We begin with a simple and brief meditation or relaxation exercise. Then we review homework. (Homework usually consists of practicing the skills for about 20 minutes several times in the week.) If someone doesn’t feel like sharing her or his homework, that’s O.K. No one is forced to talk if they prefer not to share. Then we take a 10-minute break. After the break, we review one or two new skills. Questions are encouraged. I try to make groups fun and interesting.

How big are the DBT Coping Skills groups?

There are between 4 and 9 participants in any group.

Will I have to share personal information in the group?

The group focuses on teaching coping skills. You are in charge of how much personal information you choose to share.

What happens if the group I want is full?

If the group you want is full, you can complete the initial assessment and be placed on a waiting list. The waiting list is rarely longer than a month.

What happens if my personal schedule changes and the group meeting time is no longer convenient for me?

Participants can change to another group at any time as long as there is space available.

What is “Dialectical Behavior Therapy”?

DBT was designed for individuals with borderline personality disorder. However, it is used for clients with other diagnoses. In DBT treatment, clients participate in weekly individual therapy and a weekly Coping Skills Group. The treatment itself is based largely in behaviorist theory with some mindfulness and cognitive therapy elements.

For more detailed information about some aspects of the DBT Groups, you can download:  More Information on the DBT Skills Group