What is DBT?       What is DBT Assist?

Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT), developed by Marsha Linehan PhD at the University of Washington, is a type of psychotherapy that focuses on behavioural change for individuals with extreme emotions and distress. The “D” means “dialectical.” A dialectic is a synthesis or integration of opposites. In DBT, dialectical strategies help both the therapist and the client get unstuck from extreme positions. Dialectical strategies keep the therapy in balance and help clients reach their ultimate goals as quickly as possible. The “B” stands for “behavioural.” DBT requires a behavioural approach. This means that we assess the situations and target behaviours that are relevant to our clients’ goals in order to figure out how to solve the problems in their lives. The "T" stands for "therapy" which DBT is.

DBT was the first psychotherapy shown to be effective in treating individuals with extreme emotion dysregulation in controlled clinical trials — the most rigourous type of clinical research. While DBT is no longer the only therapy to have shown effectiveness in controlled trials, it has grown a large evidence base and is considered one of the best treatments for BPD in terms of documented success rates. We are all different so there is no therapy or treatment that can claim to be 100% effective for 100% of individuals.

DBT is based on Dr. Linehan’s theory that the core problem in diagnosis such as C-PTSD, Extreme Depression, Bipolar II and BPD is emotion dysregulation. Dr. Linehan believes that that emotion dysregulation results from mixing biology (e.g., genetic and other biological risk factors) and an emotionally unstable childhood environment (e.g., where caregivers punish, trivialise or respond erratically to the child’s expression of emotion) together. The focus of DBT is on helping individuals learn and apply skills that will decrease emotion dysregulation and unhealthy attempts to cope with strong emotions.

Usually, DBT includes a combination of group skills training, individual psychotherapy and phone coaching, although there are exceptions. Individuals in DBT are asked to monitor their symptoms and use of learned skills daily, while their progress is tracked throughout therapy.

DBT Assist provides the resources and format to teach individuals the skills component of DBT. DBT Individual therapy focuses on problems occurring in an individual's daily life and the skills taught in Skill Group, including in DBT Assist, are taught in a way to support individuals acquire and maintain skills to be used in the future. It is suggested skills learnt in a skills group will take about a month to become familiar and more likely to be used successful with continued practice. Some individuals are lucky and the skills may be successfully used earlier :)

Yes there are plenty of books which explore how DBT has assisted individuals. DBT started as a treatment for borderline personality disorder so most titles may relate to individuals with a diagnosis of borderline personality disorder however still related to the extreme emotion dysregulation of individuals who have received other diagnosis. Please find below a selection of titles from participants in DBT programs including the memoir of Dr. Linehan who also experienced extreme emotion dysregulation.

• Beyond Borderline: True Stories of Recovery from Borderline Personality Disorder edited by John G Gunderson and Perry D Hoffman 
  

• The Buddha and the Borderline: My Recovery from Borderline Personality Disorder through Dialectical Behavior Therapy, Buddhism, and Online Dating by Kiera Van Gelder
  

• Building A Life Worth Living by Marsha Linehan
  

DBT Assist is an online service of the Australian DBT Institute which supports individual participants learn DBT skills and mental health professionals teach DBT skills in online DBT groups and through self-paced learning. DBT Assist provide access to web-based interventions that can be classified into those that are guided (groups and individual support by mental health professionals) or those that are automated (self-paced learning with email and video prompts to assist progress through content).

The Australian DBT Institute has developed DBT programs since 2004 in locations that include Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, Thailand, South Africa and the UK. Our unique approach includes using pop culture and and educational videos to teach and reinforce DBT skills. 

DBT Assist give participants a number of options including learning DBT Skills in a group, one on one and more...

Depends which option you choose. Online sessions are much more affordable for some participants than the cost of DBT in person which are usually double the cost of online sessions. Payment is preferred upfront. However, if you would like to pay on a fortnightly basis there is a 10% administrative fee. 

Self-Paced DBT-TI & DBT Programs: Each online group's cost is calculated by modules rather than the full program. DBT programs start from $160 per 8 week module and DBT-TI start from $200 per module for participants in our research program. 

DBT Programs facilitated by clinicians start from $320 per 8 week module and DBT-TI start from $400 per module for participants in our research program. 

One on One Skills Training starts from $60 per session with a post graduate psychology student $80 with a Mental Health Nurse and $120 with a psychologist.

Please refer to individual therapists for their individual session rates. All fees are charged in Australian dollars and are inclusive of GST and processing fees.

Once a group program module has commenced individuals can not commence until the next module starts. Participants will need to go through the foundations phase of the program which takes between one and three weeks before they can commence in a DBT or DBT-TI program.

Self paced DBT programs and One on One Skills Training can be commenced at anytime. 

A computer, laptop or ipad/notepad is recommended to get the most out of a DBT Assist program. We show 2-3 videos each session so an internet connection is also required. Group sessions are run on Zoom. So a FREE Zoom account helps to make accessing the group sessions much easier. If you are someone who likes workbooks Marsha Linehan has produced a comprehensive DBT Skills Training Book with Worksheets and Handouts (around $65 AUD which some participants have found useful to purchase and work through their DBT program. Alternatively, participants are able to print worksheets from the DBT Assist platform for their own use. 

We suggest you complete any sessions in a private area like you would when attending a counselling session. 

DBT Assist is owned by Dr. Peter King's private company Essentia Health Pty Ltd. Dr. King is a mental health practitioner from Melbourne, Victoria who began his career as a clinician in a Psychosocial Rehabilitation facility in 1994 during his undergraduate studies.  Dr. King began running DBT programs in 2001 through his private practice in Bendigo, Victoria. 

The Australian DBT Institute, founded in 2004, manages the DBT Assist website and conductions research into the effectiveness of DBT Assist and Dr. King's approach DBT-TI.