DBT therapy is divided into four distinct stages, each one building on the progress made in the previous ones. The stages go as follows:
Stage 1: The therapist and teenager work together to identify self-destructive behaviors. This can include self-injury, suicidal behaviors, and more.
Stage 2: The two then begin to identify issues in the teen’s world that affect their quality of life. This includes their ability to regulate their emotions and how well they tolerate stress.
Stage 3: During this stage, the focus turns to interpersonal relationships and how to improve them. The issue of self-esteem will also be raised.
Stage 4: With the three previous stages and skill sets in place, the focus now turns to helping teenagers find ways to experience more fulfillment and happiness in their lives and enjoy stronger relationships.
Benefits of DBT
DBT for teens provides multiple benefits for each person. Because it can be used to treat several conditions, this makes it helpful for those who deal with more than one mental health disorder. It can also help young people leave the world of drug and alcohol abuse behind them.
A core benefit of DBT involves developing mindfulness skills. This allows a person to live fully in the moment, acknowledging what they feel, think, and sense. From there, they can stay grounded and make healthy choices instead of automatically reaching for negative and detrimental behaviors and thought patterns. This skill can become extremely important during times of crisis or when feeling overwhelmed emotionally.
Another benefit of DBT is that it teaches teens about interpersonal effectiveness. They learn to listen to other people and communicate better with them. They also learn to establish healthy boundaries when needed. This helps them identify and avoid toxic relationships, which can include ones with friends, romantic partners, family, and people who might tempt them back into the world of addiction.
Finally, teenagers learn how to regulate their emotions. Emotion regulation helps teenagers not fear or become overwhelmed by their emotions. They learn to trust that they can identify and handle them, and even change them to something healthier and more beneficial for each event.