Am I ready for Gold Standard DBT or RO-DBT?

DBT and RO-DBT are a commitment. They both require time and dedication to utilizing the skills you are learning in the skills group. You will be expected to use new skills each week and to report back to your group of peers on how you used the skill and what you noticed. You will also be expected to work with an individual therapist each week and self-identify target behaviors that you would like to actively work on addressing. You will be tracking thoughts, emotions, behaviors, and urges each week on a Diary Card, which requires a dedicated time commitment each day. DBT is NOT talk-therapy; it is an intensive and structured behavioral therapy that requires commitment and active participation for the duration of approximately one year (48 weeks). 

Questions to ask yourself before scheduling your intake:

• Am I ready and willing to examine and change certain behaviors that may not be working well for me right now, even though these changes might be difficult and uncomfortable at first?

• Am I willing to commit to tracking my thoughts, emotions, urges, and skills use on a Diary Card (structured journal) each day for the duration of the program? 

• Am I willing to complete DBT homework each week, regardless of how I am feeling?

• Am I ready to commit to and actively participate in a 90-minute skills group every week for an entire year?

• I am ready to learn and use DBT skills to create a life worth living for myself? 

• Am I willing to examine and take accountability for my own contribution to the life I am living now?

If you are noticing any reluctance with any of these questions, please address with your intake coordinator prior to or during your intake appointment. The best results we have seen in our program are with clients who commit themselves to the program, attend groups consistently, work with their therapist to create goals they are excited to work on, and give the program their best try!