Webinar: An Introduction to DBT-C

About the Course

Dialectical Behavioral Therapy for pre-adolescent children (DBT-C) provides clinicians with specific tools for the child’s caregivers, the child, and the child’s extended environment to address severe emotional dysregulation and associated behavioral dyscontrol. DBT-C retains the theoretical model, principles, and therapeutic strategies of the standard DBT model. However, DBT-C model is considerably different from DBT for adults and adolescents. This workshop will detail how DBT-C:

1. significantly changed the presentation and packaging the information to accommodate for the developmental and cognitive levels of pre-adolescent children;
2. added an extensive parent training component; and
3. included targeting both the external controlling factors (i.e., the relationship with the environment) and the internal controlling factors (i.e., the relationship with self). The latter consideration represents the major addition to the standard DBT model, which targets primarily external controlling factors.

DBT-C addresses both:

1. the dysfunctional relationship with external environment, via adapting standard DBT to the developmental and cognitive levels of pre-adolescent children and by adding an extensive parent training component; and
2. the dysfunctional relationship with Self via using Core Problem Analysis (CPA).

CPA was developed to:

1. assess interpretations people construct about events and functions of responses;
2. improve the relationship with Self via CPA-specific interventions that help decrease vulnerabilities in the core senses of self-love, safety and belonging; and
3. restore the dialectical balance via achieving a synthesis of “I just am, and I can be happy/disappointed with my responses and how others relate to me.”

Presenter

Dr Francheska Perepletchikova

Learning Objectives

1. Define who might benefit from DBT-C.
2. Recognize how DBT-C was developed from standard DBT.
3. Describe how DBT-C targets external controlling factors.
4. Identify DBT-C internal controlling factors.