Winneshiek Medical Center is taking registrations for a spring session of DBT Essentials. DBT Essentials is group therapy to help people change their thoughts, emotions and behaviors to improve their quality of life.
The 12-week group is led by Kara Crain, who is a licensed mental health counselor with 16 years’ of experience in the field and 10 years’ experience providing individual and/or group DBT services. It will be co-facilitated by Hannah Schroeher, a licensed independent social worker. Crain answers some frequently asked questions about DBT Essentials.
DBT stands for Dialectical Behavior Therapy. Dialectical means that two opposite ideas can be true at the same time: there is more than one way to look at any situation, there are lots of different ideas and opinions out there, and we can feel different emotions in the same situation. Behavioral highlights how we have to learn to change old behaviors, habits, and thoughts if we want our lives to improve. Therapy, in this case, is group.
This group is for people age 18 or older, who want improve their quality of life by changing their thoughts, emotions, and behaviors. The group works to improve communication skills, reduce impulsive behaviors, and have more balanced thinking.
Group is held one time a week for 12 weeks at Winneshiek Medical Center. It is a classroom type setting all about learning new skills. It will have a maximum of 10 members and is an educational group. Sessions are over the lunch hour.
Group is covered by most insurance companies, including Medicare. There is a $20 workbook to purchase at the first day of class. Financial assistance is available for those unable to cover the cost of the book.
No. A Full DBT program involves DBT skills group, DBT individual therapy, and phone coaching. Skills group in a full DBT program lasts around a year and covers more skills than this DBT Essentials Group. This DBT Essentials group is meant to be a snapshot of core skills over the course of 12 weeks. It’s a good introduction to DBT skills.
Call Winneshiek Medical Center at 563-382-2911, and ask to speak with Behavioral Health. We will schedule an individual DBT group consult with you to make sure group is a good fit, discuss your skill goals, review group rules, and talk more about the basics of DBT.
