DBT for teenagers

If you are trying to work out whether a DBT skills group might help your young person, this covers what it involves and what to expect as a parent.

What DBT offers a young person

Adolescence involves rapid emotional change for everyone. For some young people the intensity is beyond what they can manage — emotions arrive fast, decisions get made in the middle of them, and the consequences land afterwards.

DBT teaches concrete skills for exactly that: noticing what is happening before reacting, getting through a difficult moment without making it worse, understanding what an emotion is telling you, and asking for something or saying no without the conversation escalating.

Signs a skills group might help

• Emotional reactions that seem out of proportion, and take a long time to settle.
• Impulsive decisions followed by regret.
• Conflict at home or with friends that follows a repeating pattern.
• Withdrawal, or coping strategies that worry you.

A suitability screening exists precisely so this question gets answered properly rather than guessed at.

What a group session is like

It is closer to a class than to therapy as most people picture it. A psychologist teaches a skill, the group works through it, and there is something to practise during the week. Young people are not asked to describe their personal history to the group.

Groups are small and closed — the same six to eight people each week — which matters more for adolescents than adults. Trust in a group of peers takes time.

Where parents fit in

The sessions themselves are for the young people. Most parents drop off and return at the end.

Consent arrangements depend on your young person’s age, circumstances and capacity to consent, and are explained before the program begins. Confidentiality has the same limits as individual therapy: if a psychologist becomes concerned about safety, relevant information may need to be shared.

If you would like to talk through how your young person is going, that can be arranged as a separate appointment.

Getting a reluctant teenager to attend

Two things tend to help. First, that it is skills training rather than being made to talk about feelings in front of strangers — that single fact resolves a lot of resistance. Second, that they will be with others the same age facing similar difficulties, which is not most young people’s expectation of therapy.