Dialectical Behavior Therapy Skills Training Group Begins January 2012

Do you want to develop skills to achieve emotional balance and fulfilling interpersonal relationships? DBT skills groups can be a valuable addition to individual therapy because they offer practical strategies for managing strong emotions. Group members are encouraged to participate in the whole cycle of skills training, which may take up to six (6) months. The group will be limited to 8 participants and be closed after the first skills cycle. Both male and female clients are welcome. Group members are required to be in individual therapy, which does not have to be with The Counseling Group therapists as long as the individual therapist is willing to support the use of DBT.

The skill areas are taught in 4 modules, each lasting 4-6 weeks, so this is a 6-month commitment to learn and apply the skills. There are practices assigned for each week and reviewed at the beginning of the next group. The skills are:

•Mindfulness: The "core" DBT skill is to learn to cultivate non-judgmental awareness of present-moment experiences, thoughts, emotions, and behavioral impulses. Because mindfulness is so central to DBT, we not only spend 4 weeks on learning this skill, but we also do a mindfulness practice together every week.

•Emotion Regulation: Understanding what emotions are, their functions, and skills to de-escalate or change them is key to reducing suffering.

•Interpersonal Effectiveness: Specific relational skills are taught to balance personal needs without damaging relationships or feeling overwhelmed by them.

•Distress Tolerance: When emotional experience is overwhelming, and you feel unable to change it, there are ways to tolerate this distress without engaging in self- or other-destructive behaviors.

Dates: January 10, 2012 through June 26, 2012
Days and Times: Tuesdays, 7:00 – 8:30 p.m.
Cost: $75/session (the fee may be covered by insurance and we can verify your benefits)
Location: The Counseling Group, 2840 SW 3rd Avenue, Miami, FL 33129.

Facilitators:
The first step in joining the DBT Skills Training Group is to meet with one of the facilitators individually, Inge Sengelmann, LCSW, SEP or Kristin Jones, MS, MHC

Call 305-857-0050 for more information.