DBT skills groups vs comprehensive DBT
These are two different things, and the difference is not always made clear. Knowing which you are enrolling in matters.
What comprehensive DBT includes
Adherent, comprehensive DBT has four components:
- Group skills training — learning the four skill modules.
- Individual therapy — weekly sessions with a DBT therapist applying the skills to your particular situation.
- Phone coaching — between-session contact for applying a skill in real time.
- A consultation team — the clinicians meet regularly to support each other’s adherence to the model.
It is a substantial commitment, typically running for six months to a year.
What a skills group includes
A skills group teaches the first component. You learn and practise the same skills, in a group, over a defined course. There is no individual DBT therapy, no phone coaching and no consultation team attached.
That is not a lesser version of something. It is a different thing, appropriate for different circumstances.
How to tell which you are being offered
Ask three questions:
- Does the program include individual DBT therapy, or only the group?
- Is there phone coaching between sessions?
- How long does it run?
A ten-week group with no individual component is a skills group. That is what our Adult and Adolescent programs are, and we say so on both pages.
Which is appropriate?
That is a clinical judgement, not a shopping decision, and it depends on what is happening for you. Comprehensive DBT exists because some people need that level of structure and support. Skills groups exist because many people need the skills and not the full package, and because a shorter, defined course is achievable when a year-long program is not.
A suitability screening before the program is where this gets worked out properly.
Can you do a skills group alongside existing therapy?
Yes, and many people do. A skills group runs alongside whatever else you have in place, and you can continue seeing your existing psychologist or psychiatrist throughout.