SERVICES

WHAT WE OFFER

DBT is a complete intensive outpatient program that involves weekly involvement in ALL of four services for a minimum of 1 year yet ours is 8-24+ months (often the latter)- as we condense traditional DBT model class length of 2.5 hours to offering 1.5 hour classes to accommodate busy lives — we also incorporate additional education in our DBT skills from Sarah’s in depth training and experience with attachment trauma recovery, DBT PE, traumatic invalidation, self-compassion, yoga therapeutics & sacred intimacy + authentic sexuality for phenomenal gold-standard treatment outcomes. (However, some clients may meet criteria for 8 or 16 month commitments.)

Specific & individualized duration of the program depends on assessment & placement. DBT is not a quick fix, cuz’ you didn’t get here quickly.

At DBT of Charleston, we aim for honesty about realistic timeline expectations based on BOTH long-term traditional, recent and new research to truly reflect for your goals and outcomes.

OUR MUTUAL COMMITMENT TO YOUR THERAPEUTIC GOALS

Outcomes are entirely based on total program commitment to ALL four aspects of DBT:

Individual DBT (+DBT PE) Therapy Sessions | Couples DBT therapy & Family DBT Sessions
DBT (+DBT PE) Skills Classes | for Individuals, Couples, Families, (or On-Demand if therapeutically wise)
DBT Skills Telephone Consultation (phone coaching) | for Individuals, Couples, Families & Parents
OUR commitment of engaging in “TRUE” DBT Consultation TEAM

In engaging in “true” DBT Team, we focus on “therapy skills for the therapist + client case support from a village of experts,” NOT solely on mentoring/training therapists to enhance counseling practice business objectives nor on pathology of client cases. These focuses are ‘NOT’ DBT TEAM adherent.

Instead, DBT Team expands to supporting client cases with the belief that a sound clinician anchored in DBT (+ DBT PE (for therapists)) therapy THEMSELVES will bring you CLEAR, EMBODIED treatment.

ALL FOUR+ services are required at Dialectical Behavior Therapy of Charleston to REFLECT extensive background in the MOST promising DBT (+DBT PE) researched outcomes to reflect your therapeutic goals

OUR COMPREHENSIVE DBT PROGRAM

True DBT is a highly specialized and comprehensive PROGRAM consisting of at least these 4-core required services. As listed above, these include (1) individual 1-on-1 DBT sessions, (2) skills classes, (3) phone coaching, and (4) our engagement with a DBT Team focused on supporting WISE & WELL specialists who then support YOU. *an added component of family/parent/caregiver is incorporated when the client is a teen/kid -or- significant others/allies involvement for adult clients when clinically supportive to do so (see more on this under item #2) ‘skills classes’ below)

Adherent and comprehensive DBT MUST not only include all 4 services, but these 4 services are also required in order for the name DBT to be ethically used.

DBT is a complete program.

1. Individual DBT Specialized Sessions | DBT Couples or Family Therapy Sessions- All Highly Specialized*

Consists of an approximately one year commitment of one-on-one weekly/bi-weekly sessions with an intensively trained DBT therapist. Our work in individual sessions is to personalize skills learned in class by replacing destructive and unhelpful behaviors with such skills, assisting clients in “building a life worth living” through a deeply validating approach to a complex form of behavior modification.

Individual sessions are HIGHLY specialized, core in DBT recovery, and rely heavily on deep trust-building from this stylized therapeutic relationship applied solely by an intensively-trained DBT therapist. (DBT therapists are rigorously trained to apply the complex specialization of DBT in this individual setting.)

Standard talk therapy is not appropriate nor even ethical for most clients who meet criteria to be in the DBT program.

Highly specialized individual DBT sessions may include DBT Prolonged Exposure (PE) Protocol for Complex PTSD and/or Yoga Therapeutics.

DBT Prolonged Exposure (PE) Protocol for Complex PTSD

This is worked into the DBT Program in individual therapy sessions when applicable. Prolonged Exposure has incredible research backing demonstrating strong outcomes for individuals with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).

DBT-PE Protocol has shown to increase the efficacy of DBT by 3-4 times. When used in conjunction with DBT, DBT-PE Protocol helps to not only recover ‘complex’, ‘traumatic invalidation’ and ‘multiple trauma’ PTSD but also strengthens overall outcomes in the DBT program.

Exposure-based therapies may also be beneficial for other anxiety-related and painful-emotion struggles as well as inhibited grief. Relationship DBT Therapy + Attachment Principles of Emotion Focused Therapy (EFT), authentic intimacy yogic therapeutics + DBT PE can all be used for couples and family approaches.

Yoga Therapeutics in DBT Sessions

Yoga Therapeutics may be optionally worked into therapy sessions, is tailored to the individual’s needs, and has DBT skills woven into the practice. Our 500-hr advanced certified yoga therapeutics instructor has near two decades of yoga teaching experience all around the Charleston area | nationally and has experience working with many levels, ages and styles to fit a specific client’s needs.

Sarah’s specialized advanced training in “Yoga Therapeutics” for mindful relational attachments is a revolutionary approach that combines the ancient practices of yoga wisdom sourced from trainers whose training derived from world-renown teachers from India with the current intelligence of physical therapy, contemplative psychology, sacred intimacy and authentic sexuality and other medical sciences. Her teaching background further involves working in a specialized physical therapy practice and at the Medical University of South Carolina’s Wellness Center and teaching mindful-relational intimacy and sacred sexuality from yogic paths at Esalen Institute on the coastline in Big Sur, California.

2. DBT Skills Training Class*

Through one year+ of weekly classroom style instruction, you learn skills from five modules and two sub-modules:

DBT Skills Class MODULES

Mindfulness – how to be in control of your mind instead of your mind being in control of you.
Emotion Regulation – how to understand the function of emotions & to make them helpful to you instead of chaotic.
Interpersonal Effectiveness – how to ask for what you need and how to say no in a way you are heard & how to reduce conflict in relationships.
Distress Tolerance – This is your emotional “first-aid kit” for what to do when in crisis or when emotions seem unbearable.
Midpath – develop the ability to acknowledge and ‘synthesize’ opposites, whether the conflict lies within yourself or is interpersonal; move out of all or nothing thinking & acting.

DBT Skills Class SUB-MODULES

Self-Compassion – develop the skills that allow you to learn how to treat yourself lovingly; invite the ‘inner critic’ to dissolve.
Self-Validation – acknowledge your experience with acceptance and respect; develop the ability to validate others in this regard as a domino effect
Woven Throughout – DBT PE education skills synthesis + attachment trauma recovery

Skills Education Classes for Parents/Couples/Caregivers/Family Members/Supporters/Friends/Allies

These classes help families learn skills and how to be supportive of adults or adolescents in the program.
This service is a helpful evidence- based compliment for the adolescent and teen program at our center. We also do offer some resources and have additional approaches for family and/or allies engagement and/or significant others’ session involvement when therapeutically complimentary.

3. Telephone Consultation / (phone coaching)*

A very important part of DBT is to offer ongoing telephone consultation in how to use skills in-between sessions when problems arise. Telephone consultation is an open access skills-centered service that is utilized on an as-needed basis by a DBT specialist. Crucial in DBT skills application, it is applied with great care in DBT’s style of behavior modification. *to increase skills use application of DBT skills, e.g. *for relationship repair skills with therapist to help decrease distance and alienation amidst conflict with therapist *DBT skills generalization for crisis behaviors

4. DBT Consultation Team*

We are committed to maintaining a high quality of treatment. In team consultation, we work together to create “therapy for the therapist” to offer the best treatment program for you, to keep each other adherent to DBT principles and protocols, to embody DBT + DBT-PE therapy ourselves in both our work with clients & our personal lives, to continue our education/training on the most recent DBT research.

DBT teams may be local or virtual. True DBT teams are made of all intensively trained DBT therapists who have met criteria to become DBT specialists and have an adherently-structured team focused on “therapy for the therapist.” See Choosing a DBT Therapist for more information.

*All 4 core services applied in alignment with the DBT protocol as stated above are needed by clinicians who have received official-approved DBT training in order for the name DBT to be ethically used; DBT is a complete program.

Our program adheres to the principles of DBT as taught by its founder, Marsha Linehan (full DBT certification: https://.dbt-lbc.org -and- base DBT training: www.behavioraltech.org).