Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT)

Onondaga Case Management Services provides Dialectical Behavior Therapy Skills Training Groups to individuals being served by an OCMS program (ACT, Adult and Children/Youth Case Management, Peer Mentor Service). These groups are not available to individuals who are not already enrolled in OCMS programs.

Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) is a cognitive-behavioral treatment  developed by Marsha Linehan, Ph.D. The approach balances accepting individuals as they are with motivating them to change and to discover a life worth living. Research has shown DBT to be effective for helping individuals with severe emotion dysregulation (individuals who have strong behavioral reactions to their emotional experiences).

Our DBT Skills groups teach skills in mindfulness, distress tolerance, emotion regulation, and interpersonal effectiveness.

We currently have one adult DBT groups and one adolescent DBT group. The adolescent group has a companion group for parents/guardians to learn the skills themselves and to support adolescents learning the skills. 

Our mission is to teach skills related to emotion regulation as an enhancement of current OCM services and as an adjunct to primary treatment services. We are committed to providing access to DBT skills groups to individuals who desire to make behavioral changes and pursue a life worth living. We empower participants with new behavioral choices and strategies. We empower ourselves to teach DBT to participants and colleagues and to continue to search for knowledge from all sources, from DBT experts to the participants themselves. We strive to pursue our mission mindfully, non-judgmentally, and effectively.

For more information, please contact Carolyn James, CSW at 472-7363 ext-112