OVERVIEW

Regulating Emotion the DBT Way is organized by Behavioral Tech Institute (BTECH) and will be held from Jun 04 - 05, 2026.

Training Description:
Purpose: This training addresses the moment-by-moment steps involved in coaching the client to regulate an emotion.

Content: This training will cover tips and strategies for managing common pitfalls in upregulating or downregulating each emotion to fit the facts. Participants will be shown how to troubleshoot to ensure the client has genuinely grasped the skill.

Length & Schedule: This course consists of 8 modules for a total of 11 instructor-led hours, which is delivered over 2 days.

For Whom: This course is intended for DBT and other therapists working with clients who have dysregulated emotions. This training is intended for mental health professionals who work in a therapeutic role and who would like to learn more about coaching emotion regulation. No prerequisites are needed to join this course, but it is advisable to have some previous training in DBT.

Core Description:
The role of strengthening and generalizing emotion regulation skills falls to the individual therapist. Clients may have read about emotion regulation or learned the skills in DBT skills training groups but still tend to over-rely on distraction or distress tolerance when these skills are called for in everyday life. In this workshop, participants will learn the moment-by-moment steps involved in coaching the client to regulate an emotion. The trainer will share some top tips on managing the common pitfalls in upregulating or downregulating each emotion to fit the facts. Participants will be shown how to troubleshoot to ensure the client has genuinely grasped the skill.

Learning Objectives:
Module ER01: What is emotion regulation?

1. Describe what is meant by “dialectical”.
2. Explain why emotions get dysregulated.
3. List emotion signatures and why we use them.
4. Outline the steps in emotion regulation.

Module ER02: Behavioral chain analysis

1. Explain how to hone in on the context in a chain analysis.
2. Describe the steps in behavioral chain analysis.
3. Demonstrate how to separate out emotions.
4. Describe how to regulate secondary emotions.
5. Describe common errors in behavioral chain analyses (BCA).

Module ER03: Anger and Guilt

1. Describe when anger matches the facts.
2. Explain signature features and opposite actions for anger.
3. List special issues involved in regulating anger.
4. Describe when guilt matches the facts.
5. Describe signature features and opposite actions for guilt.
6. Explain special issues for regulating guilt.

Module ER04: Emotion Validation

1. Explain what is meant by validation.
2. Describe effects of invalidation.
3. Demonstrate how to avoid insufficient or superficial validation.

Module ER05: Shame and Disgust

1. Describe situations where shame matches the facts.
2. Explain signature features and opposite actions for shame.
3. List special issues related to regulating shame.
4. Explain when disgust matches the facts.
5. Describe signature features and opposite actions for disgust.
6. List special issues for regulating disgust.

Module ER06: Sadness

1. Describe when sadness matches the facts.
2. Explain signature features and opposite actions for sadness.
3. List Special issues when regulating sadness.
4. Demonstrate the steps in regulating sadness.

Module ER07: Fear, Jealousy, and Envy

1. Describe when fear matches the facts.
2. Explain Signature features and opposite actions for fear.
3. List special issues regulating fear.
4. Describe when envy and jealousy match the facts.
5. Explain opposite actions for jealousy and envy.
6. List special issues for regulating jealousy and envy.

Module ER08: Problem-solving

1. Describe obstacles to problem-solving.
2. Explain solutions for the valid part of emotions.
3. Demonstrate practical problem solving.
4. Summarize steps in emotion regulation.