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

Speaker

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

Wise Mind Counseling, LLC

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Alexa (Lexi) Mulee, LMHC, C-DBT, is a highly sought-after speaker and DBT instructor who has worked extensively with DBT in both inpatient and outpatient care settings for almost a decade. The owner and founder of Wise Mind Counseling in New York City, she focuses her work on DBT and offers a multitude of services, including skills groups, individual sessions, treatment teams, and phone coaching. Her expertise working with individuals dealing with borderline personality disorder, eating disorders and addiction. Known for her ability to make learning fun and accessible, Alexa has a knack for making even the most complex concepts feel easy to understand.

 

PESI is not affiliated or associated with Marsha M. Linehan, PhD, ABPP, or her organizations.

 

 

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

 

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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-judgment 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 judgment 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 behavior

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 prioritizing DBT skills into a provider’s treatment as usual

Case Studies and Demonstrations

Target Audience

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