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Kitchener
Changes Due to COVID-19
In-person workshops from Sept. 2020 to Apr. 2021 will be live streamed through Zoom. In-person workshops from May to July 2021 are scheduled for on campus in either Kitchener or Milton. If we are unable to hold in-person events at the time of the training, the workshop will be changed to the live stream option. Registrations will be automatically switched to the live stream workshop and our usual cancellation policy will apply. If you have any questions, please contact the Faculty of Social Work Professional Development office at fswprofessionaldevelopment@wlu.ca prior to registering.
Dialectical behaviour therapy (DBT) was developed by Marsha Linehan for complex mental health clients engaging in suicidal behaviour; it is the only evidenced-based intervention for borderline personality disorder. More recently, DBT has been adapted for the adult and adolescent population that struggle with other disorders of emotion dysregulation, such as substance use, bipolar, binge eating disorder, and other mood disorders. DBT is focused on increasing people’s ability to manage and tolerate their emotions more effectively, deal with distressing situations without making them worse, and forming and sustaining healthier interpersonal relationships. It accomplishes this through a comprehensive treatment modality that is housed within a strong and genuine therapeutic relationship.
DBT is comprised of four independent, yet interconnected, modes of intervention:
Held in-class in Kitchener, this program will help you understand the functional rationale for each of these modes of intervention, as well as have an opportunity to practice the skills through role plays and group work and begin to apply this knowledge to real world examples and case studies.
To complete the DBT Certificate, you must complete the following workshops:
These workshops can be taken in any order. However, it should be noted that the best experience is to follow the order that has been outlined above to maximize the learning; each workshop builds upon the prerequisite skills of the one before. If this is not feasible at a minimum, An Introduction to DBT (or an approved equivalent) is a prerequisite to all other workshops, which are advanced level trainings that build on the knowledge in the introduction workshop.
You can complete this certificate in as little as one year or take up to seven years. You do not have to be working toward the DBT Certificate to take any of these courses.
After completing this certificate, you will not be allowed to identify yourself as a certified DBT therapist. The only approved DBT certification is through the DBT-Linehan Board of Certification. We have designed this certificate to meet the educational requirements of the certification process, as well as to begin to prepare you for the certification exam. Please see the DBT-Linehan Board of Certification website for complete details about DBT certification.
Completing this DBT certificate will not qualify you to register with the Ontario College of Social Workers and Social Service Workers or the College of Registered Psychotherapists of Ontario. Please visit those websites for information on becoming a therapist in Ontario.
Dialectical behaviour therapy (DBT) was initially developed for individuals with complex mental health problems and engaging in suicidal behaviour. It is the only evidenced-based intervention for borderline personality disorder. In the last decade DBT has been adapted to a wider range of severe emotional dysregulation disorders (bipolar, binge eating disorder) and effectively applied within a wide range of clinical settings (forensic, school, hospital, residential). DBT focuses on improving client’s ability to tolerate intense emotions, manage distressing situations without making them worse, improve interpersonal effectiveness and increase mindfulness skills all within a comprehensive, multi-mode treatment modality.
At the end of this workshop participants will be able to:
A core mode of intervention within DBT is the skills group, whereby clients are taught more skillful ways to regulate their emotions, effectively manage the distressing situations in their lives, and improve and maintain relationships with the people around them. These skills are taught in a weekly skills group for adults and in a multi-family skills group for the adolescent population. There is currently evidence that supports decreases in problematic behaviour and increases in adaptive coping by implementing skills group as a stand-alone intervention; this has resulted even in the application of DBT Skills within the education system.
By the end of Part One, participants will be able to:
Prerequisite: An Introduction to Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (or an approved equivalent).
A core mode of intervention within DBT is the skills group, whereby clients are taught more skillful ways to regulate their emotions, effectively manage the distressing situations in their lives, and improve and maintain relationships with the people around them. These skills are taught in a weekly skills group for adults and in a multi-family skills group for the adolescent population. There is currently evidence that supports decreases in problematic behaviour and increases in adaptive coping by implementing skills group as a stand-alone intervention; this has resulted even in the application of DBT Skills within the education system.
By the end of Part Two, participants will be able to:
Prerequisite: An Introduction to Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (or an approved equivalent).
In dialectical behaviour therapy (DBT), case conceptualization uses the principles and the protocols of the treatment to assess client goals and behaviours, develop a targeted treatment plan, and provide accurate interventions that ultimately bring the client to his/her life worth living goals. Case conceptualization in DBT is an iterative process, starting with the initial assessment and continuing to be refined through the beginning stages of treatment. The purpose of this workshop is to guide participants in how to conduct a comprehensive DBT assessment during the first four sessions of adherent DBT therapy in order to increase the effectiveness of therapy thereafter.
At the end of the workshop participants will be able to:
Prerequisite: An Introduction to Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (or an approved equivalent).
In DBT, individual therapy is one of the four modes of treatment delivery. Its primary functions are to maintain client motivation and commitment to treatment, individualize change strategies to specific client’s case formulation, and effectively respond to suicidal crises and therapy interfering behaviours all while maintaining a strong therapeutic alliance.
At the end of this workshop participants will be able to:
Prerequisite: An Introduction to Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (or an approved equivalent).
Two key issues while working with high risk and highly complex clients is how to ensure generalization of therapeutic change within the client’s natural environment and how to reduce the likelihood of burnout within the therapist. Phone coaching, one of the four modes of DBT intervention, provides clients with the support they need to effectively manage high arousal situations without engaging in problematic behaviour. The DBT consultation team is what is affectionately (and accurately) referred to as “therapy for the therapist,” whereby all the same tenets of DBT individual therapy are integrated into a team meeting format that effectively supports DBT clinicians in maintaining their own commitment and adherence to the principles and protocols of the treatment.
By the end of this workshop participants will be able to:
Prerequisite: An Introduction to Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (or an approved equivalent).
Treating high risk, complex clients is challenging in its own right. When clients engage in dysfunctional behaviours within treatment that challenge the therapists it can be incredibly difficult to continue with effective treatment. This workshop is designed to help therapists identify and respond to client behaviours that interfere with treatment, and behaviours that burn out therapists.
By the end of this workshop participants will be able to:
Prerequisite: An Introduction to Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (or an approved equivalent).
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