Skills Training

Skills Training for Emotional Wellness in North County San Diego

Skills training group classes include Standard Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) and Radically Open (RO) DBT courses. Depending on the situation, these can also be available with individual skills trainers. Standard DBT covers mindfulness (being in the moment in a non-judgmental way), distress tolerance (coping for getting through painful situations without making them worse), emotion regulation (daily practices to reduce vulnerability, as well as increase positive experience and sense of mastery), and interpersonal effectiveness (to meet your needs, build desired relationships, let go of toxic situations, and maintain self-respect). For adolescents and families, standard DBT also includes walking the middle path (validation, to communicate the recognition of where someone is coming from, and behaviorism, effective reinforcement to promote desired behavior and consequences to reduce undesired behavior). RO DBT covers psychoeducation on neuroregulatory systems, flexibility, social safety signaling, and skills for resentment, bitterness, embarrassment, and forgiveness. RO DBT is most helpful for overcontrolled patterns characterized by emotional loneliness, as well as perfectionism, persistently elevated anxiety, chronic depression, and restrictive behaviors, e.g., restrictive eating.