DBT classes...

My therapist is starting me in DBT next week. Just looking for some feedback from people that have gone through it, or are curently. I really think it will help me, even though they haven't diagnosed me with any sort of personality disorder just yet. Anyone have any insight or suggestions?

It takes about a year to get the most out of it.

It's NOT a cure. It teaches new coping skills to replace those which are ineffective. You're success will depend on well you can integrate those skills into your daily life, otherwise dbt will be pretty much useless.

Here is an informative website, that explains DBT from the client perspective:

http://www.dbtselfhelp.com/

It's hard, but it's well known to work.

As said above, it doesn't cure your disorder, it just provides you with skills and coping methods to make your life liveable.

Wow. Thanks guys. I'll be sure to take the advice. And check out that site.

DBT has helped me a lot personally. It can be very helpful as long as you do your best to apply the coping skills to your daily life.

I had DBT classes while in OP group therapy about 5 years ago. I found it to be extremely helpful & it was the part of my day that I looked forward to most. It takes a lot of dedication, as you're basically rewiring your automatic thought process, as if your brain were a computer & you had to reprogram the whole system. So, needless to say, it isn't easy. But it's very well worth it. I've been meaning to look into taking it again. Just like most information you'll learn, it's use it or lose it. I've forgotten most of it, but when I was actively using the tools I learned is the most productive I've been my entire life.

I have been working with the self-help site.

It does help and it's not a cure. It's a treatment. And it helps me.

Good luck.

Billi

Thanks for all the advice. I'm feeling better and more confident about it.

I just "graduated" from DBT about a month ago. It teaches a lot of coping skills, adn can really work, as long as you are willing to put the work into it, and practice it.
I was in it, this time for close to 18 monhts (a previous time, prior to having ect i was in for about 2 years).
How long you attend, at least where i went, was really based on how much you are learning and applying the skills

Are most programs a year or longer? Aren't there any shorter ones? Does insurance cover it? Can you still see your T (if she's not part of the program) or do you have to only see their T?

No they usually aren't any shorter than at least a year and you have to attend once a week to group, and if you have an individual therapist, you have to attend that once a week as well.

Therapy doesn't work in a week. It's a year+ long because you get the skills drilled in twice. It has to keep getting repeated until it works.

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.

I am so excited to start DBT myself! Best of luck to you!

I'm doubling up right now because I'm way too attached to my old T to just switch over, but that's not encouraged. They're afraid of mixed messages. It's certainly less likely to impact treatment if your T is also familiar with DBT.

(Surprise, surprise...I met my DBT therapist for the first time the other day and I'm already clinging, in true BPD fashion )

Thank you! Good luck to you, as well!

Yay! I mentioned to my T today that I was interested in DBT courses and it turns out he's one of the people that runs it at my local hospital! So stoked! I had no idea he was trained in it and that makes me so happy. I just have to wait 10 weeks for the next group to start. SQUEEEE!

(See my excitement? That should be encouraging from someone who's already taken it and is doing it again. Just sayin'.)

I just found a class that meets for 6 months and they DO let you see your own T! There is no waiting time for the daytime group except I know I'll miss 3 weeks because of being out-of-town in early October, so maybe I have to wait until after I come home. I have to talk to my T, and call back the program to see what is best to do in these circumstances. They said it's okay to miss a few weeks, but maybe 3 consecutive weeks is too much. I hate to wait until October, though.

The update is that there IS a waiting list after all! I may have to wait until mid-October though maybe I can start in September. I feel really upset about the wait even though DBT was the farthest thing from my mind until a few weeks ago. I need those distress tolerance skills right NOW!