Dialectical Behaviour Therapy
Treatment Programme
Creating a Life Worth Living
Client Information Leaflet
What is Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT)?
DBT was designed as a treatment for people who have difficulty regulating
their emotions, have problems in their relationships and have impulsive
behaviours. The therapy is a combination of cognitive based therapy,
mindfulness and acceptance based philosophy and practice. The therapy
aims to help you to “create a life worth living” by not only accepting you and
those around you as they are, but also to support you in learning new skills
that you can practice with the support of the DBT Treatment Team.
How would I know if this treatment was for me?
The therapy is designed for people experiencing emotional dysregulation
whereby it is causing significant life problems. The diagnosis typically
attributed to these difficulties is of Emotionally Unstable Personality Disorder
(EUPD) or it is also referred to as Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD).
These terms are used by mental health professionals to assist in
understanding a collection of symptoms that people experience, so as to plan
the most appropriate treatment for these. If this diagnosis is relevant you may
be able to relate to the following types of difficulties:
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Problems naming, understanding and controlling feelings, often feeling
depressed, anxious or angry.
Suicidal feelings which you find difficult to manage.
Often acting impulsively in ways that can cause harm to your self such
as cutting, burning, taking overdoses, other self harming behaviours or
threatening self harm.
Worrying that you will be rejected by family or friends, having fears of
being left all alone.
Your relationships are often really intense and can seesaw from being
really good to really bad in a short time. Relating to others and feeling
secure in doing so is a significant difficulty.
Because regulating feelings and coping with relationships is so difficult,
you may feel unsure of who you really are. You may have feelings of
being empty, which adds to your sense of isolation from others.
You may have tried many medications, treatments and other services
none of which appear to have been effective in the long term.
You most likely feel you would like to change, but feel afraid to do so.
What is the treatment programme?
The programme is based on an evidence based treatment called Dialectical
Behaviour Therapy (DBT) developed by Dr. Marsha Linehan1. It has been
widely researched and is shown to be an effective treatment for persons with
these difficulties. It is not recommended to use a brief psychological
1
Linehan, M. (1993) Cognitive Behaviour Treatment of Borderline Personality Disorder,
Guilford Press, London.
intervention (of less than 3 months duration) specifically for EUPD or
individual symptoms of that disorder.
What does the programme involve?
The primary aim of the programme is to help you understand why you behave
in harmful ways and learn new skills to create the kind of life you would like to
live. The programme runs for 12 months. The programme is comprehensive in
which you will be offered the following:
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2 hours of group Skills Training each week to assist you in learning
how to practice:
a. Mindfulness: Strategies to increase your capacity to pay attention, nonjudgmentally, to the present moment.
b. Interpersonal Effectiveness: Strategies to help you attain personal goals in
interpersonal situations while enhancing self-respect and the overall quality of
your relationships.
c. Emotion Regulation: Strategies to understand and manage your emotions in
effective, non-harmful ways.
d. Distress Tolerance: Strategies to help you tolerate high levels of painful
emotions and accept reality as it is.
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One hour of Individual Therapy each week:
The aim of your individual therapy sessions is to support you in fully
understanding the reasons why you engage in certain behaviours, how to take
steps to change this behaviour, and help you to apply what you learned in the
Skills Training group. Individual sessions last from 60 to 75 minutes minutes,
and your therapist will help you identify meaningful goals and target specific
behaviours to change. You will be given a "diary card" to use as a checklist for
tracking thoughts, feelings, behaviours and skills on a daily basis.
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Telephone coaching:
You may be encouraged to call your individual therapist for brief (five minute)
skills-oriented coaching if you are experiencing difficulty applying skills.
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Treatment team:
The individual therapists and group skills leaders meet on a weekly basis and
work as a consultation team in the DBT model to ensure that they are all
applying DBT appropriately and to assist in you in getting the maximum
benefit from the programme.
Where does the programme take place?
The DBT Treatment Programme is being offered to people who live in some
parts of Co. Mayo, where the DBT therapists are based in their jobs with the
HSE. The individual sessions will be provided by your individual therapist and
will be located in your local area. The skills training group will take place in
Castlebar, facilitated by any two of the DBT trained therapists.
Who are the DBT Therapists involved with the programme?
Rachel O’Reilly
Claire Guerin
Dr. Claire Lacey Quinn
Yvonne McCaffrey
Michael McGeough
Brendan Murphy
Adult Mental Health Service
Adult Mental Health Service
Adult Mental Health Service
National Counselling Service
Adult Mental Health Service
HSE West Drugs Service
This programme sounds like it might be something I would
like to apply for. What do I do next?
If you are interested in attending this treatment programme you will need to
contact one of the DBT therapists. S/he will complete a referral form and
discuss it with other members of the DBT Treatment Team.
If the Treatment Team thinks this therapy could be of use to you, you will be
offered an initial assessment with an individual therapist. Typically you will
meet this person 4 – 6 times for assessment. The aim of these sessions is to
give you further information about the programme and to assess your
suitability for the programme.
There are limited places on the DBT Treatment Programme we do not operate
a waiting list system.
I’m wondering if the programme is right for me and I have some
questions. Who can I contact for some answers?
If you have any further questions or you would like to be considered for this
programme you can contact:
Rachael O’Reilly, Senior Clinical Psychologist, DBT Team Leader, The White
House, St. Mary’s Complex, Mayo General Hospital, Castlebar, Co Mayo.
Tel: 094 9042002
Email: rachael.oreilly@hse.ie