What Can My Family Expect in DBT-C Therapy?
What is DBT-C and how do I know if my family may benefit from it?
Dialectical Behavior Therapy for Children (DBT-C) is an evidence-based treatment that is an adaptation from the standard model of Dialectical Behavior Therapy, in order to more effectively serve children aged 6-13 years old.
Children who may benefit from DBT-C may be experiencing:
- Emotional dysregulation
- Impulsivity
- Physical aggression towards others
- Destruction of property
- Verbal aggression
- Suicidality
- Self harming behaviors
- Interpersonal difficulties
- Depressive symptoms
- Anxiety
- Low self-esteem
What are the Goals of DBT-C Therapy?
The goals of DBT-C are to treat the child’s current symptoms, to treat the child’s environment in order to support behavior change, and as a preventative measure to reduce the child’s risk of harmful and destructive psychopathology later in life. A significant addition to the DBT model is that DBT-C also incorporates identifying and targeting vulnerabilities that the child and the parents’ may experience, in regards to the internal relationship with themselves. For example this may include low self-esteem, difficulty trusting others, feeling undeserving of love or belonging, and more. Identifying vulnerabilities in the core senses of self is achieved by the DBT-C therapist conducting a Core Problem Analysis (CPA), and is treated through CPA-related interventions. For more information on the three main core senses of self, visit https://www.childdbt.com/dbt-c/.
What are the Components of DBT-C?
The treatment of DBT-C includes 4 major components:
Intensive Parent Training:
Parents/caregivers learn evidence-based parenting strategies to implement in response to their child’s behaviors, gain an understanding of how behavior science works and the functions of their child’s behaviors, and create a validating home environment. A validating home environment is a crucial foundation for a child’s ability to achieve long-term behavior change. The goal of parent training is to provide parents with the necessary tools and real life practice with these tools during treatment, so that parents can confidently coach their child towards adaptive behaviors after treatment has ended.
Child’s Individual Therapy:
After the completion of parent training, the child is brought into therapy to develop their own personal Life Worth Living goals (the life they want to work towards that promotes feelings of hope, excitement, and joy), and develop targets (broken down steps towards the goal) to work towards weekly. In the child’s individual sessions, emotional psychoeducation is also provided to assist the child in developing a new understanding of their emotions.
Family DBT-C Skills Training:
After the completion of parent training, parents/caregivers and the child also devote a portion of their weekly session to learning DBT-C skills. These skills are adapted from the standard model of DBT to be more developmentally appropriate for children 6-13 years old. Families learn and practice the four modules of DBT skills: Mindfulness, Distress Tolerance, Emotion Regulation, and Interpersonal Effectiveness.
Phone Coaching:
Both the parents/caregivers and the child have access to their DBT-C individual therapist between sessions via phone call or text. This serves to assist in generalizing the skills and strategies the family is learning into their daily lives. Utilizing phone coaching increases the consistency of skill implementation, prevents ineffective responses to the child’s maladaptive behaviors, increases parents’ emotional regulation in stressful situations, and prevents unnecessary hospitalizations during crises.
Reach Out to Us!
To learn more or explore if DBT-C may be a good fit for your family, contact The Counseling Center Group at 888-604-6776 or info@ccgrouptherapy.com to schedule a free 15 minute consultation call with one of our DBT-C therapists.
About the Author
Jessica Haddad, LCSW
Jess is the Clinical Director of The Counseling Center of New Jersey. Her style is attentive, caring, and driven to support and empower her clients as they create a life ...
