Adolescent DBT Duration of Treatment
Typical timelines related to DBT therapy
English-Speaking Adolescent DBT Program
English-speaking families commit to a 24-week treatment cycle, which consists
of four weeks of pre-treatment, and 20 weeks of individual/family therapy
and the multi-family DBT skills group. Once the cycle is completed, there
are a number of treatment options depending on the needs of the clients
and families and treatment recommendations of the team:
- Contracting for another cycle of comprehensive DBT
- Stepping down to a 16-week DBT graduate group and continuing individual/family therapy
DBT graduate group is a teen-only group, designed to help clients generalize their skills into their lives, support them while they do trauma work, and get them closer to their long term goals. The graduate group allows clients who have already learned the skills to practice them in session with other members, process and discuss current struggles, and solidify their understanding of how to integrate DBT in their lives. Clients are allowed to join graduate group only if they have shown progress, have the skills necessary to be in a less structured/processing group, and are actively working towards long term goals.
- More intensive DBT-informed family therapy.
- Trauma-focused therapy using evidence-based treatments like Trauma-Focused Cognitive-Behavioral therapy, and/or Prolonged Exposure.
Spanish-Speaking/Bilingual Adolescent DBT Program
Spanish-speaking/bilingual families commit to a 28-week treatment cycle, which consists of four weeks of pre-treatment, and 24 weeks of individual/family therapy and the multi-family DBT skills group. Once the cycle is completed, there are a number of treatment options depending on the needs of the clients and families and treatment recommendations of the team:
- Contracting for another cycle of comprehensive DBT
- Stepping down to a 16-week graduate group and continuing individual/family therapy.
DBT graduate group is a teen-only group, designed to help clients generalize their skills into their lives, support them while they do trauma work, and get them closer to their long term goals. The graduate group allows clients who have already learned the skills to practice them in session with other members, process and discuss current struggles, and solidify their understanding of how to integrate DBT in their lives. Clients are allowed to join graduate group only if they have shown progress, have the skills necessary to be in a less structured/processing group, and are actively working towards long term goals.
- More intensive DBT-informed family therapy.
- Trauma-focused therapy using evidence-based treatments like Trauma-Focused Cognitive-Behavioral therapy, and/or Prolonged Exposure.
