Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT)

Practical skills for managing emotions, coping with distress, and navigating relationships.

The Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) Skills Group at Restore Psychological Services is a structured, skills-based group designed for individuals who experience difficulty managing intense emotions, coping with distress, or navigating challenging relationships. The group provides education, practice, and support to help participants develop practical skills they can use in their everyday lives.

The group is based on Marsha Linehan’s Dialectical Behavior Therapy model and focuses on balancing acceptance and change. Participants learn to better understand and tolerate difficult emotions while developing healthier and more effective ways of responding to challenging situations.

The DBT Skills Group is intended to complement individual therapy and is not a replacement for individual psychotherapy. Participants are encouraged to have an individual therapist while participating in the group.

People seated in a circle for a group discussion

DBT Skills Group Includes Four Core Areas:

  • Mindfulness: Learning to stay present and develop greater awareness of thoughts, feelings, and experiences without immediately reacting to them.
  • Distress Tolerance: Learning skills to manage painful or crisis situations without making them worse.
  • Emotion Regulation: Developing skills to understand, manage, and stabilize intense emotions and reduce emotional reactivity.
  • Interpersonal Effectiveness: Learning how to communicate effectively, establish healthy boundaries, navigate conflict, and maintain relationships while preserving self-respect.

What to Expect

Group sessions focus on learning and practicing DBT skills. Participants have opportunities to discuss their experiences, practice new skills, receive feedback, and explore how to apply DBT strategies to emotionally challenging situations.

The goal of the DBT Skills Group is to help participants develop practical tools for managing emotions, tolerating distress, improving relationships, and responding to life's challenges with greater awareness and effectiveness.