Enhancing your motivation to change

Individual Therapy

Individual therapy in DBT is typically once a week for 50-60 minutes. Your individual therapist will be considered your “treatment coordinator” where he/she will coordinate the other modes of DBT. The agenda of an individual therapy session is structured based on a hierarchy of behaviors called “target behaviors”. These target behaviors are Life Threatening, Therapy Interfering and Severe Quality of Life Interfering and will be assessed (using a daily self monitoring tool called a Diary Card) at the beginning and throughout the session in order to help you and your therapist determine what behavior will take top priority to decrease. Individual therapists will use a behavioral chain analysis (a moment-by-moment chain of events) to identify certain conrolling variables that are giving rise to and maintaining the function of these target behaviors. Once these controlling variables are identified, the two of you will move into “task analysis” (identifying DBT skills and helping you get from your current capabilities to your desired behaviors). One major function of your individual therapist will be to serve as a consultant to you on how to consult with your environment. When problems in your environment occur, your individual therapist will coach you up on how to be effective with your environment. There are very few times where your individual therapist will consult with your environment.