Half way mark. I understand the concepts presented but having a hard time using irl. Ive decided i will do dbt a second time after this session ends.

I use some of the skills without knowing that I am but there is so much more to it. Anxiety got to me and had to take ativan oh well theres always next time.

It was pouring rain so the bakery/deli didnt even occur to me until i got home and felt hungry. Next week!

In our country, it's standard practice that you go through the DBT skills group twice. So it's definitely not odd.

Well done on using skills! And I think "there's always next time" is a great mindset.

[technigal]

Good for you for going. The skills are not easy but they do become part of your life after a lot of practice.

[shezbut]

It's a LOT of information to cover, going through more than once is not unusual or ever looked down upon.

I just graduated DBT last month. It was my third attempt ~ and I completed two complete sets before feeling comfortable with the skills and resources that I have learned.
(I am a slow learner though, due to a traumatic brain injury.)

[FlowerChild67]

I am glad it has worked for all of you. For me it has been a joke the so called skills are just common sense and are nothing special. It has done nothing for me and I have been in group 10 weeks. I am just about to quit and hope to find something else that is more adult like and not so childish. The skills in this program would be good for some middle schooler or maybe even younger.

[ThunderGoddess]

I was recommended to go through DBT twice by my therapists and I totally agree just to get it ingrained! I seriously love DBT it has helped me more than any meds out there

[lavendersage]

Unfortunately, I cannot afford to take the DBT course a second time. It's going to be a miracle if I can financially do so this first time around.

I am hoping that if I do end up sticking with it that at least a couple of the women (my class happens to be all-female) in my class will be open to committing to starting our own self-guided "after-care" type group where we can continue to practice the DBT skills via role-play and discussion.

I'd also like to incorporate more of a "sharing stories" type of vibe in this type of group as I feel the highly structured environ of DBT doesn't allow for that. It's like finally figuring out you're a unicorn, getting put in a room with a bunch of other people that turn out to be unicorns, too! .....but you don't talk about how your life is as a unicorn and get to hear how the other unicorns lives are. You just sit there and learn skills. Meanwhile, I'm dying to ask, "How has being a unicorn affected you in your life?" "When did you first think to yourself, "Ya know...I'm not a horse....I look awfully like a horse....but there's something different about me....and then FINALLY, one day....you realized....I have a horn!" But you don't get the chance to talk about it with the other unicorns.

The sharing would have to be done in a way that makes everyone (the share-er and the listeners) feel safe, of course, but I'd like to try.

I can dream, I guess.