DBT is appropriate for many adolescents, and our program can help when adolescents are feeling overwhelmed by their emotions and are struggling to cope with the world around them. DBT is evidence based, and has been clinically proven to be effective in adolescents with Borderline and related personality disorders, as well as a range of other mental health issues. Our program also works with parents, who sometimes don’t know where to turn for help.
One of the fundamental principles of DBT is the balance of acceptance and change. Our adolescent program provides the structure to help adolescents acquire the skills they need to reduce or eliminate behaviors that are dangerous or are preventing self-growth and healthy functioning. Adolescents in our comprehensive program are learning skills in the four modules of DBT: Mindfulness, Emotion Regulation, Interpersonal Effectiveness, and Distress Tolerance.
Our DBT trained clinicians use validation strategies and cognitive behavioral interventions to help teens stay committed to treatment as they attempt the challenge of changing well-established behaviors they may have relied on for long periods of time. We are also available to teens and parents involved in the family aspect of our program for coaching 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
Our adolescent program consists of individual sessions, adolescent skills group, closed family skills sessions, and family therapy. The program has a minimum 6 month commitment. Parents and their teens are learning the skills at the same time together, and the focus of adolescent DBT is to help teens and their parents navigate through this challenging time to adulthood mindfully.
Common behaviors we treat in adolescents are:
Anxiety
Defiance
Relationship Difficulty
Problems Communicating
Suicidal ideation
Self Harm
Physical aggression
Verbal aggression
Truancy
Eating disorders
Drug abuse
Alcohol abuse
Pre Adolescent Program (ages 6-12)
Dr. Wallach is very excited to announce that the clinicians at Suzanne Wallach Psychotherapy will be training in early 2020 in DBT-C, which is a comprehensive DBT program for children ages 6 through 12. We will be offering full program options in April 2020. Please check back here for details.