Well that's scary! I don't think anyone can reliably learn those skills in 4 days or a week. Any program that "certifies" someone in those skills (or others) in such a short period of time should be viewed rather skeptically. And any professional who thinks they are qualified to practice those skills independently after such a short period of time, should be viewed skeptically as well. It reminds me of my uncle, who is a surgeon, telling me horror stories about for-profit medical seminars that "certify" a doctor in a particular technique during a weekend course, and then allow the doctor to go back home and begin practicing that skill in his own practice. The doctor may have done very well that weekend, under the supervision of the expert, but going home after 3 or 4 days and practicing that technique by himself on patients? Yikes. My uncle hates those kinds of certification programs. He calls them money scams, for doctors with egos, that end up hurting patients. Clearly, with mediation or something like that, the consequences aren't as dire-- but still. If there is any skill involved in something, it takes time, direction, practice, supervision, correction, and more practice to learn it correctly.

Rainbow, I can't add much to your discussion about DBT specifically-- don't know much about it myself-- but from what I've read others post about it, it does sound as though it would be helpful for you. So, I hope you try one of the two programs your T recommended-- whichever one you think sounds better for you.