Adolescent & Family DBT Program
Adolescent and Family DBT Treatment
At Awake and Aware, we view the family as an integrated system. While many families find us because their adolescent is struggling—we operate from a systems view that all members of the family are participating in the relative regulation and dysregulation. Adolescent DBT addresses the adolescent as an individual and the parents and the adolescent as a system.
Adolescent DBT was originally developed by Alec Miller and Jill Rathus in conjunction with Marsha Linehan to support the unique developmental and behavioral issues that present with our teen population. Constructed around the same programmatic principles as adult DBT, the adolescent program modifies its requirements to meet the needs of all involved.
See Miller and Rathus discuss these new and exciting modifications:
What’s the program?
For ages 12-18 years old
Middle School Program Commitments (Ages 12 & 13)
One individual DBT Therapy Session with one of our skilled clinicians, 1x weekly
1 family skills group (12 weeks long) including the adolescent and family together
1 to 2 required family sessions per month (may be more, dependent on need)
Skills Coaching access 7 days a week
High School Program Commitments (Ages 14 to 18)
Adolescent & Parent must complete their own respective 12 Week DBT Skills Groups to move on to the full comprehensive program
Upon completion of the 12 week skills group, family may decide to end program or move into comprehensive DBT, to include:
One individual DBT Therapy Session with one of our skilled clinicians, 1x weekly
1 family skills group (12 weeks long) including the adolescent and family together known as “The Middle path”.
1 to 2 family sessions per month (may be more, dependent on need)
Skills Coaching access 7 days a week
What’s involved?
Commitment is key in all DBT programs along with willingness to identify behavior and move towards changing those behaviors that aren’t working long term.
We know that forcing change doesn’t work and increasing efforts towards self-determination is key during the teen years. Therefore, initial desire and commitment is required for all family members, which includes the family and the adolescent.
What’s Next?
If this sounds like the right direction for you and your teen, please contact us for further information and head to our contact page for initial paperwork to get started.