Questions to Ask your New Therapist
Ensuring that the therapist you work with is providing treatment that is in line with the model is imperative in your recovery. Think about it, would you want your eye doctor to be the one who can work on your heart? - ”Yeah, I took a class in cardiology once..” - Of course not! If you are being recommended for DBT, that means a therapist or previous provider wants you to see someone that specializes in this treatment, and there is more to it than knowing what the skills are. Seeing a provider without adequate training runs a myriad of risks for the client, on top of potentially wasting time, money and effort.
Here are some questions to ask providers in your search for a DBT therapist:
- Have you or your team members attended a foundational or intensive 5-10 day training? If so, who provided the training?
- Do you or your team members offer four treatment modes: individual therapy, group skills training, and phone coaching?
- Do you or your team members meet for consultation with other DBT therapists?
- How are you/team members working to continue your training in DBT?
- Do you/team members utilize diary cards in individual sessions?
- Are you currently certified as a DBT therapist through the Linehan board of certification or are you in the process?
- How do you utilize the DBT skills you are teaching in your own life?
Adherence, or Comprehensive DBT, means that the treatment providers are adhering to the model, running DBT the way it was designed, to keep in line with effective treatment that works (to keep the treatment evidenced based).
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DBT informed therapy means that the client is not receiving all four modes of treatment, or that they are receiving an abbreviated form of the treatment based on their needs.