But Wait...There’s DBT!
- Catherine E. Weigley, LCSW
- Jul 21
- 3 min read
Updated: Oct 22
Clinical Manager at Perez Therapy, LLC
Starting a DBT Group: Through Creative Expression
Do you want to learn skills to live a better life?
Do you want to feel calmer and have more stable relationships?
Do you want to replace your destructive habits with healthier ones?
Then DBT is the treatment for you.
This is how I was trained to introduce Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) to newly formed DBT Skills groups. It seemed to me like a callback to those old infomercials that promised results. “Set it, and forget it!” My vacuum storage bags filled with air and Oxiclean did not miraculously make my whites bright white again. I do, however, believe that people can learn skills that can make their lives more manageable and fulfilling through a DBT group.
There are no miracles in DBT, but people can make change through some dedication and practice through DBT group participation. DBT skills are broken down into four modules.
You don’t get just one module, but four, count them, four modules!!!
They are as follows:
Mindfulness: The mindfulness module is made up of skills that can help us learn to live in the moment, rather than worry about the past or the future. These skills help us to reduce the amount of time spent dwelling on what happened and what may or may not happen. The skills help us to remain calm and help us learn to make decisions with intention rather than act impulsively.
Distress Tolerance: DBT acknowledges that life is just difficult sometimes and that we will inevitably experience pain and sadness. These skills help us to go through hard times without making them worse through acting out or engaging in thinking or behaviors that prolong suffering.
Emotion Regulation: These skills teach us to better understand and identify our feelings and to engage in healthier behaviors, habits and thought patterns to help us to be more positive and satisfied in life.
Interpersonal Effectiveness: These are skills that help us learn to better advocate for ourselves and to make it more likely that we achieve our goals in our interactions, while maintaining our dignity and security in a relationship through concrete communication skills.
Development of these skills requires practice, and DBT groups encourage this practice through homework and accountability. “Homework” can be a scary word, as life is often so busy. This homework is not meant to be a burden or add to already busy schedules, rather group participants are asked to use the skills they have learned in their everyday lives and interactions. One can mindfully wash their dishes or use the broken record technique to stay focused when engaged in a disagreement or when making a request. Ideally, DBT skills create more time and mental space because we don’t have to spend so much time stuck with our own thoughts or engaging in drawn out arguments with our loved ones. Group members come back and share about their experiences, which creates a sense of accountability and community and reinforcement.
DBT skills are therapeutic and serious issues come up, but DBT groups can and should be enjoyable. Facilitators will teach the skills through creative activities such as drawing, acting, play, or mediation and self soothing that can be as comforting as a Snuggie. Creative expression can reinforce skills and lead to better understanding and comprehension of the skills.
Don’t just take my word for it…Michele from Philadelphia says, “I looovvee DBT! It has taught me to look at both sides of a situation and consider the outcome and how impactful my actions will be to myself and others”.
George from Central Pennsylvania says, “It (DBT) helped to give me a healthy mistrust of my feelings. I learned that just because I feel something, doesn’t mean that it’s objective truth.”
Emma from Philadelphia says, “DBT has made me a calmer person. The skills have made it easier for me to let things go and know what I can control and what I can’t. I am also much better and disagreeing with people without arguing, even when they get worked up. I find that I can get my points across more effectively without needing to become aggressive.”
Just like my trusty George Forman Grill, DBT can make life more manageable through a simple and easily accessible design.
There’s no obligation, but it is worth trying.
Perez Therapy will offer a weekly “Building DBT Skills Through Creative Expression” group.
Duration: 9 weeks
Tuesday evenings from 6:00 to 7:30
Beginning on August 12, 2025
Led by Hannah Muller ATR - BC, LPC
And me, Catherine Weigley, LCSW.
Please contact Perez Therapy by filling out a Group Therapy Interest Form or let your therapist at Perez Therapy know if you are interested.
Act now!
