I LOVE DBT for Children!
I recently was lucky enough to become trained in Dialectical Behavior Therapy for Children (DBT-C)! I am so excited about this form of treatment for children and their families and I want to share with you some information that may help you decide if DBT-C is an approach that may suit your family’s needs. DBT-C is a specialized, novel, therapy designed to help children navigate their emotional and behavioral difficulties. Developed by Dr. Francheska Perepletchikova, DBT-C combines the core principles of Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) with techniques tailored for younger minds, making it an effective and engaging approach for children and their families. DBT-C usually treats children from ages 7-12, yet can be modified for slightly older ages.
What is DBT-C?
DBT-C is built on the foundation of DBT, created by Dr. Marsha Linehan to treat adults with borderline personality disorder. DBT blends cognitive-behavioral techniques with mindfulness, acceptance, and dialectics—the idea of balancing acceptance and change. Essentially, it helps people accept themselves and their experiences while also working towards positive changes in their behavior.
For children, these principles are “packaged differently”, to tackle issues like severe emotional outbursts, impulsivity, oppositional behaviors, and anxiety. DBT-C aims to help children develop coping skills, better regulate their emotions, and improve their social interactions. The main goal of DBT-C is to prevent these behaviors from reaching the level of psychopathology (diagnoses) in children as they progress through life to adulthood.
Key Elements of DBT-C
- Parent Training: Involving parents is a crucial part of DBT-C. Parents are validated about their experiences with having a child with difficult behaviors and intense emotions, learn the same skills their children are being taught, which helps them support their child’s emotional development, assist the parents in managing their own emotional responses, and reinforce these skills at home.
- Skills Training: DBT-C teaches parents and children skills in four main areas: mindfulness, distress tolerance, emotion regulation, and interpersonal effectiveness. These skills help the family unit understand and manage their emotions, cope with tough situations, and get along better with others.
- Individual Therapy: One-on-one sessions give children a safe space to explore their thoughts and feelings. The therapist assists in identifying the core problems that are reinforcing behaviors and emotional experiencing within various environments to assist in acceptance and/or problem solving with situations.
- Family Therapy: Family sessions focus on improving communication and relationships within the family. One of the main targets of treatment is to build and strengthen the parent-child relationship. By addressing family dynamics and teaching problem-solving skills, DBT-C helps create a supportive and validating home environment.
- Phone Coaching: Phone coaching is where the child, as well as the parents, are able to contact the therapist, outside of regularly scheduled appointments to assist in generalizing skills outside of the therapy session and reinforce effective behaviors and responding.
How Does DBT-C Work?
DBT-C starts with an initial assessment to understand the child and family’s specific needs and create a tailored target hierarchy. Once the assessment is complete and the family, as well as the clinician, believes it is most effective to proceed with DBT-C, at least 1 parent or caregiver, would need to enter a short introductory period to DBT-C. This is to ensure that the parents/caregivers are cognizant of the commitments needed to engage in DBT-C accurately. The therapist wants to set the family up for success, not failure. If the family is willing to commit, they would enter pretreatment stage, which provides parents with psychoeducation, validation, and assists in facilitating change in the home environment. Once pretreatment ends, treatment with parents and child can begin. Most of the initial work is completed by parents, which is commonly seen as unusual. Remember, this is a novel treatment.
Benefits of DBT-C
DBT-C has shown promising results in improving emotional and behavioral functioning in children. Here are some key benefits:
- Better Emotional Regulation: Children and families learn to identify and manage their emotions more effectively, leading to fewer emotional outbursts and mood swings.
- Enhanced Problem-Solving Skills: By teaching children and their families how to approach and solve problems, DBT-C helps them handle difficult situations with greater ease.
Improved Relationships: Better communication and interpersonal skills lead to healthier relationships with family members, peers, and teachers. - Increased Resilience: The skills learned in DBT-C foster resilience, enabling children and their families, to cope with stress and adversity in a healthy way.
DBT-C offers a structured yet flexible approach to help children manage their emotional and behavioral issues. By blending the core principles of DBT with strategies tailored for kids, DBT-C equips children with the tools they need to thrive emotionally and socially. With its focus on skills training, parental involvement, and real-time support, DBT-C stands out as a valuable therapeutic option for children facing emotional and behavioral challenges.
About the Author
Alyssa Eichhorn (she/her), M.A., LPCC-S, is a Licensed Professional Clinical Counselor that specializes in dialectical behavior therapy. Alyssa works with all ages in a radically genuine and nonjudgmental setting to help individuals identify more effective and balanced behaviors to create a life worth living. Alyssa provides a directive and warm approach with her clients to facilitate solutions, growth, and change where they want it.
Sources: https://www.childdbt.com/