Therapist Training

DIALECTICAL BEHAVIOUR THERAPY

Page updated 12 March 2012. Refresh your browser window to ensure you have the latest information.

Sydney Monday 17 and Tuesday 18 September 2012 North Sydney Harbourview Hotel, 17 Blue St. Nth Sydney
Melbourne Tuesday 18 and Wednesday 19 Sweptember 2012 Treacy Centre, 126 The Avenue, Parkville
Perth Tuesday Tuesday 25 and Wednesday 26 September 2012 Murdoch University (precise venue to be advised)

EARLYBIRD Fee $517, up to 4 weeks before workshop date, STANDARD Fee $583 applies after that. $100 discount for Full Time students. Contact us with proof of Full Time status to receive the discount code BEFORE registering.

All workshops run 9.00 to 5.00. Each workshop is conducted by Dr Chris Lee (Day One) and Dr Sian Jeffrey (Day Two)

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What is DBT?
Marsha Linehan and colleagues developed a systematic cognitive-behavioural treatment called Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT) for working with individuals who meet criteria for borderline personality disorder. DBT is based on the assumption that individuals with Borderline Personality Disorder have problems with emotional regulation. The therapy aims to teach skills to improve emotional regulation which includes interpersonal skills, mindfulness and distress tolerance skills. Personal and environmental factors inhibit the use of behaviour skills that the individual possesses and frequently reinforce inappropriate behaviours. In individual treatment, DBT focuses on motivational issues and seeks to balance skill development with a supportive context that validates the person’s experiences.

However DBT also involves a considered focus on the therapeutic relationship and to therapy interfering behaviours. Examples of therapy interfering behaviours include the client’s poor compliance with aspects of the treatment contract, emotional withdrawal during sessions, missed appointments, and anger towards the therapist.

About the workshop
This workshop is intended for therapists who are familiar with, as well as those with little or no previous exposure to DBT or cognitive behavioral therapy. The format of the training includes lecture material, videotapes of treatment, and practice exercises to teach the principles and strategies of DBT. The following topics are covered:

Day one:
A dialectical biopyschosocial theory of borderline personality disorder; structuring treatment for multi-problem, high-suicide risk clients; basic strategies used in individual DBT; enhancing & maintaining the therapy relationship; dealing with unrelenting crisis, applying behaviour change principles.

Day two:
Application and practise of DBT skills of Mindfulness, Distress Tolerance, Interpersonal Effectiveness, and Emotional Regulation. Group issues in DBT.

About the Presenters

Dr Christopher Lee was Senior Clinical Psychologist at a major teaching hospital in Perth (Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital) for 11 years where he set up the DBT treatment team for Borderline Personality Disorders. He is now programme chair in clinical psychology at Murdoch University. He has had extensive training from leading figures in DBT, and has been accredited in Schema Focused Therapy by the International Society of Schema Therapists. Chris has conducted workshops in treating personality disorders throughout Australia and overseas for the last 15 years. He is involved in research on personality disorders and posttraumatic stress disorder and will present this data at the workshop. He has published in the areas of personality assessment and the treatment of PTSD. He is a principal investigator in an international multicentre randomized control trial for borderline personality disorder.

Dr Sian Jeffery is the Coordinator of the Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT) programs at Fremantle Mental Health Service (FMHS). Dr Jeffery was involved in the establishment of both the comprehensive year long DBT program and the 16 week DBT skills group at FMHS. Dr Jeffery has a keen interest in personality disorders and was involved in the establishment of a state-wide Personality Disorders Interest Group and is the current chair of this group. She has been an invited reviewer for journal articles in this area and has provided numerous presentations and workshops on working with borderline personality disorder and DBT. Dr Jeffery is also the state president of the Australian Association of Cognitive Behaviour Therapies (AACBT).

Further information

Further DBT resources are available from http://behavioraltech.org/resources/

Click here to link to the Frequently Asked Questions section of Marsha Linehan's site.

Contact Chris Lee for details of DBT training.