Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) Skills Training: Fundamentals Part 1 & 2

Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) Skills Training: Fundamentals Part 1 & 2 is organized by Behavioral Tech Institute (BTECH) and will be held from Dec 01 - 09, 2026.

Part 1: December 1–2, 2026
Part 2: December 8-9, 2026

Purpose:
This live instructor-led course is intended for those who are ready to make a serious commitment to the implementation of DBT Skills training in order to more effectively serve their program participants. Skills training is one of multiple modes of treatment delivery in comprehensive DBT. The focus of this course is
limited to the skills training mode.

Content:
This course is an in-depth training in the Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) Skills: Core Mindfulness, Distress Tolerance, Emotion Regulation, and Interpersonal Effectiveness, as well as the structure and methods required to help patients move from skills acquisition to generalization of skills into their natural environments.

Length & Schedule: This course contains 16 modules for a total of 24 instructor-led hours. Each module includes reading and homework tasks. Total participant time required for each of the modules (training segments) is approximately 2.5 – 3 hours.

This course can be provided onsite or remotely (online). The modules can be customized to the schedule of our clients, or it can be offered over 4 continguous days. If the course is offered as a spaced modularized offering each module is 90-minutes, while a contiguous offering would have each module as 75-minute segments with additional segments to begin and close each day. Quizzes are included in each module, and are repeated as a final knowledge test at the end of the program.

For Whom: This training is for individuals who intend to implement DBT skills training to fidelity. It is intended for those who have completed Dialectical Behavior Therapy Foundational Training, Dialectical Behavior Therapy Intensive Training, or Dialectical Behavior Therapy Skills Training: Introduction.

Core Description:
Research indicates that DBT skills are a key mechanism of change for suicide attempts, non-suicidal self-injury, depression, and anger, and multiple randomized control trials have shown DBT skills to be effective for a variety of problems, including depression, emotion dysregulation, binge eating, and borderline personality disorder. This training provides in-depth training in Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) Skills: Core Mindfulness, Distress Tolerance, Emotion Regulation, and Interpersonal Effectiveness, as well as the training methods required to help patients move from skills acquisition to generalization of skills into their natural environments. The intended purpose of the various skills and the rationale (including the evidence) for their place in the treatment are addressed. Clinical examples are used to illustrate specific skills training procedures. Participants will learn key teaching points for the various skills. Video of roundtable discussions of DBT experts, and demonstrations of a skills training class are incorporated.

This training is for individuals who intend to implement DBT skills training to fidelity. It is intended for those who have completed Dialectical Behavior Therapy Foundational Training, Dialectical Behavior Therapy Intensive Training, or Dialectical Behavior Therapy Skills Training: Introduction.

Consolidation of knowledge from training requires preparation and tasks beyond the time spent with trainers. In order to maximize the return on the investment made in training, readings, homework tasks, and a knowledge test are built in. Pertinent readings and homework tasks are included in a description of the training segment included later in this document. Participants should have Dr. Marsha Linehan’s DBT Skills Training Manual, Second Edition available during the training.

DBT skills training is one of 4 modes of standard outpatient DBT. For those who want to implement a full DBT program we recommend completion of the comprehensive Dialectical Behavior Therapy Intensive Training.

Learning Objectives:
As a result of this training, participants will be able to:

1. Orient patients to how specific skills will help with specific relevant situations.
2. Conduct missing links analyses of incomplete homework assignments.
3. Conduct brief chain analyses in the context of skills training classes.
4. Demonstrate strategies for increasing client motivation.
5. Demonstrate the ability to manage questions, conversations and comments in skills training.
6. Demonstrate the ability to manage interactions among skills training participants.
7. Demonstrate how to solve problems that arise during skills training class.
8. Employ engaging teaching methods.
9. Conceptualize the rationale for the use of specific DBT skills.
10. Orient patients to the steps required to effectively use DBT skills.
11. Employ questions and activities that can be used to assess skills deficits.
12. Describe situations for skills practice.
13. Demonstrate providing corrective feedback.
14. Employ strategies for motivating patients to engage in skills rehearsal.
15. Identify strategies for engaging in behavioral rehearsal.
16. Demonstrate informal exposure procedures.
17. Employ strategies for shaping skillful behavior.
18. Identify DBT skills for clients to use for specific problems in specific contexts.
19. Motivate clients to use DBT skills by linking skills use to the goals of clients.
20. Identify therapy interfering and therapy destroying behaviors in skills training classes.
21. Identify points of polarization in interactions with patients in skills training.
22. Manage therapy interfering and therapy destroying behaviors in skills training classes.
23. Describe the evidence for the use of DBT Mindfulness skills.
24. Convey the rationale for DBT Mindfulness skills.
25. Identify situations in which Mindfulness skills can be helpful.
26. Teach Core Mindfulness skills to clients.
27. Describe the DBT skill of Wise Mind.
28. Define and describe the three “What” skills (Observe, Describe, and Participate).
29. Define and describe the three “How” skills (Nonjudgmentally, One-Mindfully, and Effectively).
30. Describe the evidence for the use of DBT Interpersonal Effectiveness skills.
31. Convey the rationale for Interpersonal Effectiveness skills.
32. Teach Interpersonal Effectiveness skills to clients.
33. Identify situations where Interpersonal Effectiveness skills can be helpful.
34. Identify skills for making requests or saying no to a request.
35. Identify skills for maintaining relationships.
36. Identify skills for maintaining self-respect.
37. Describe the evidence for the use of DBT Emotions Regulation skills.
38. Convey the rationale for DBT Emotion Regulation skills.
39. Teach Emotion Regulation skills to clients.
40. Identify situations where Emotion Regulation skills can be helpful.
41. Identify skills for changing emotional responses.
42. Describe specific DBT skills that are particularly helpful for anger.
43. Identify skills for reducing emotional vulnerability.
44. Describe the evidence for the use of DBT Distress Tolerance skills.
45. Convey the rationale for DBT Distress Tolerance skills.
46. Identify situations where Distress Tolerance can be helpful.
47. Convey the rationale for the use of reality acceptance skills.
48. Identify skills for reality acceptance.