DBT Skills for Parents of Teens
Would you like to gain behavioral skills to help connect with and support your emotional teen?
Would you like to gain behavioral skills to help connect with and support your emotional teen?
Learning DBT Skills
Parenting can be especially challenging when your teen has difficulties regulating their emotions. This group provides parents with tools to help their teens accept life circumstances while developing skills to enact positive changes in their behavior and interactions with others.
Parents will learn how to address behavior through effective communication and enhanced understanding, in turn reducing power struggles and developing a more meaningful relationship with their teen.
Each week focuses on a specific DBT skill: Mindfulness, Distress Tolerance, Emotion Regulation, Interpersonal Effectiveness, and the teen-family-specific module, Walking the Middle Path.
In addition to the education, the group offers a supportive space to connect with other parents experiencing similar dynamics.
Who
Parents/guardians of 12-18 year-olds who seek tools to support their child(ren) experiencing mental health struggles and emotional dysregulation
When
Weekly on Thursdays
12:00 PM to 1:15 PM
From September 19 – December 19
Where
Meets virtually via HIPAA-compliant Zoom
Cost
- $100 per session for one parent
- $175 per session for two parents
Additional Fees:
- One-time $40 materials fee (optional, for a binder with information)
- Required 50-minute intake session: $210
Registration and Inquiries
Contact the group facilitator:
Elise Brown, Licensed Professional Counselor
email: elise@sunstonecounselors.com
phone: 774-823-0053
This group will be co-facilitated by Vanessa Cheshier
Meet the Facilitator
Elise Brown, LPC, NCC
elise@sunstonecounselors.com | 774-823-0053
I finished a course in January 2022 that was designed by Drs. Marsha Linehan, Jill Rathus, and Alec Miller, the creators of Dialectical Behavior Therapy Skills Adapted for Adolescents and Families. I gained knowledge on how to teach the five DBT skills—mindfulness, distress tolerance, emotion regulation, interpersonal effectiveness, and Walking the Middle Path, a module tailored to adolescent families.
DBT skills are, in my opinion, life skills that anybody can acquire and use to their advantage. I am excited about DBT and its capacity to bring about transformation and personal development since I work with teenagers and their parents on a daily basis. Since I started counseling in 2018, I’ve participated in a number of parent courses and DBT groups for teenagers. My most recent experience leading a 16-week middle school DBT skills group.
What are Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) Skills?
Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) is an evidence-based treatment that helps individuals live more in the moment, better manage intense emotions, reduce impulsive behavior, and improve their relationships.
From behavioraltech.org, problematic behaviors evolve as a way to cope with a situation or attempt to solve a problem.
The function of DBT Skills Training is to help enhance a client’s coping skills and strategies when facing everyday challenges. There are four skills taught in DBT:
Mindfulness: how to be fully aware and present in the moment without judgement
Distress Tolerance: how to tolerate negative emotions in difficult situations, rather than escape them with problem behavior
Interpersonal Effectiveness: how to express needs and set boundaries with others while maintaining self-respect
Emotion Regulation: how to understand, manage, and change emotions that are causing distress
Walking the Middle Path is a module specific to adolescents and their families. This module focuses on resolving conflict and problem solving by balancing acceptance and change.
