What to Expect in Your First DBT Therapy Session
The idea of starting therapy can be daunting for anyone, no matter how old you are when you begin. You might be wondering what you would say, where you would start, and what kinds of questions your therapist would ask.
Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) is a structured treatment that helps people who struggle with overwhelming emotions and behaviors. The structure of the treatment helps put clients at ease in the first session, because we work through a process. When working from a structure or framework, there is less room for conversation to stray into topics you were not expecting to discuss.
In this blog, we will demystify the first DBT session experience.
Focusing on the Here and Now
Your DBT therapist will most likely keep the focus on what brings you into treatment now, at this point in your life. While it can be helpful to know how and when certain problems began, the general focus is on what problematic things are happening right now. There probably will not be a lot of questions about your early childhood experiences in the first session.
We will ask you about all the different areas of your life, such as school/work, home/family, and friends/social. Also, DBT therapists understand that self-harm and suicidal thoughts and behaviors can be part of the picture for people seeking DBT, so we are compassionate in asking about that. We expect that it might be hard to talk about and we only have to discuss as much as it takes to make sure that you are feeling safe and okay at the time of the session.
Orienting You to DBT Treatment
Your DBT therapist will take some time to orient you to the different components of treatment and how they are designed to help with certain aspects of your life. We might use a couple of the worksheets from the manual to give you an understanding of the factors that could have led to you being recommended for DBT. In addition, some of the information we share is logistical and specific to where you are seeking services (for example, the days and times that a group meets.)
A comprehensive DBT Program has four (4) main ways to deliver services:
Individual Therapy
DBT Skills Training Group
Telephone Coaching
Consultation Team
Your therapist will explain which services are available to you and the rationale for that. Parents of teens might also be seeking support, so many programs offer additional services for caregivers.
Focusing on Your Life Worth Living
We also want to know what you imagine your life to be like if your current struggles were better managed or even fully resolved. We will ask you what you envision for your life, and we’ll write it down together.
The idea of crafting a blueprint for your Life Worth Living is that it gives us something to strive for throughout the course of treatment. Motivation to work hard in therapy can wax and wane, so if you start to feel yourself losing steam, we can revisit the blueprint to generate more inspiration and willingness to keep working hard.
Assessing Treatment Targets
Because DBT is a structured treatment, we have a hierarchy of treatment targets that helps us organize the way we approach problems as they occur on a week-to-week basis. We will work with you to identify behaviors that interfere with your life and safety, your ability to engage fully in therapy, and your life satisfaction (quality of life) overall. The problematic behaviors that come up over and over again, and ultimately keep you from your goals, become your treatment targets.
Commitment and Buy-in
DBT is different than other types of therapy because there is usually a 6-month commitment required in order to experience the full effect. That might sound like a long time at first blush, which could lead to an impulsive decision to walk away from the opportunity. In fact, DBT can be a very helpful treatment for people who have dropped out of different kinds of treatment in the past.
In your first DBT session, we will want to know about your hesitation and the things that can get in the way of making this important decision for yourself. We will work together to solve the problems that can be solved and accept the ones that might not have an immediate solution.
We often need more than one meeting to really establish commitment and buy-in, and that is okay, because we try to have around four (4) meetings to really ensure that you are ready and willing to start this next part of the journey.
Summary
We hope this article has given you the sense that your DBT therapist will work hard to partner with you as you start this next phase of your journey. We understand it is hard work, we understand that the motivation to do another hard thing can be low at times, and we feel confident that we can do it together if you are ready and willing.
If you believe DBT is right for you or your teen, book an appointment with one of our specialists today! info@abccma.com
