Dialectical Behaviour Therapy in Practice
There are four primary modes of treatment, or elements, in Dialectical Behaviour Therapy: (1) Therapist consultation groups; (2) Individual therapy; (3) Telephone contact/crisis coaching and; (4) Group skills training (Mind, 2013). Not all DBT programs carry all four modes of treatment. When they do, the various modes can be described as follows. Therapist consultation groups: An essential aspect of the therapy is that therapists, who usually work in teams rather than independently, receive DBT from each other. Working with people who have suicidal ideas and are self-harming can be very stressful, so the members of the group undertake to keep each other in DBT mode: being dialectical with one another and avoiding pejorative descriptions of either client or therapist behaviour. »
