Are you in the U.S....? It's technically a 6 month course, and the 2nd 6 months just repeats what you learned. You could take it for just 6 months, and in my group there was at least one person that did that. They were the exception to the rule, and I never perceived her to be that bad off, and I'm not even sure she was diagnosed with bpd. . I was originally going to take it for just 6 months, and the instructor talked me into staying on for an additional 6 months. I'm glad he did. The first 6 months all these concepts are new and it's an adjustment process, and the 2nd 6 months is really where you start grasping the concepts. I started in May 2011, and it really didn't start sinking in until January 2012. So, I strongly recommend the full year.

With regards to your insurance it should, as to how much it will depend on how good your insurance is.. The individual therapist would be covered by your individual visits and the group therapy would be considered outpatient.

Whether or not you'll be able to keep your individual therapist all depends on how they have their program setup.. I've heard some people had to see a dbt therapist along with the group. I was allowed to keep my individual therapist (not dbt trained) and just take the group. I was told though if I chose to see a dbt therapist I'd have to stop seeing my individual therapist during that period of time. You'd have to check to see how they have their program setup.