Why don't mental health providers want to work in shortage areas? It can be money related or it can just be by nature of the fact that living in a smaller populated place by nature is going to have fewer mental health professionals. Low population density means you can't sustain a practice financially. But it's not just that. Would you want to move somewhere with no job prospects for your spouse? No good schools for your kids? Not a lot of cultural amenities? That's the reality of many shortage areas or its just that people tend to congregate in cities. Plus, reimbursement rates in many shortage areas that are Medicaid-dependent populations are too low to make it economically viable.

Therapy sessions are just therapy which includes talking with a therapist. Medication is entirely separate. If you need medication, you'd see a psychiatrist or psychiatric nurse practitioner. That's a different provider with a separate cost, plus prescription costs. At Grouport, we only do therapy, like group therapy, individual therapy, couples therapy, family therapy, combination of group and individual therapy, IOP, and a DBT self guided program. If you need medication management that would be done elsewhere and we can provide referrals for that.

Trauma-focused therapy differs from supportive therapy through following evidence-based protocols rather than open ended discussion. This can consist of a number of therapy methods like Cognitive Behavioral Therapy or specialized approaches like EMDR. You’ll learn to gradually address trauma memories rather than avoid them and build coping skills before trauma processing. Trauma-focused therapy actively works toward eventually processing trauma. However, it's not diving in immediately and the therapist ensures you have a foundation of stability first. Trauma processing can feel difficult but is necessary for recovery.

Start with whatever's possible. Online Therapy is often easier to address anxiety since you can do it from your own environment without the need to travel to sessions. So go at your own pace, and know that treatment isn’t perfect and it's okay if you stumble or have lapses along the way. Build as you go, and little by little you should see progress.

Many times it does. Understanding often emerges through the work you put in in therapy. Sometimes it doesn’t though and understanding why isn't necessary for effective treatment. Don't get stuck believing you can't improve until you understand exactly why you're depressed since skills work regardless. If there is a cause, therapy will likely uncover it over time. Just let things naturally develop in your treatment.

BPD significantly impairs functioning through emotional dysregulation, relationship conflicts, and impulsivity that affects work/school performance. Functioning improves with treatment. Most people continue with their general life responsibilities while undergoing treatment and see incremental progress that makes things better little by little. As DBT progresses, workplace relationships typically become more manageable, productivity increases, and crisis-driven absences decrease. During intensive treatment, some people need reduced hours temporarily or medical leave. That said, many people can do intensive treatment while maintaining their regular responsibilities. Your therapist can help you strategize the treatment plan and what’s best for your needs and life situation.

DBT skills can help manage PTSD symptoms even though DBT wasn't designed for trauma specifically. Grounding and mindfulness (bringing yourself back to the present when having flashbacks), distress tolerance (riding out trauma responses), emotion regulation (managing intense fear, shame, anger from trauma). That said, DBT doesn't replace trauma processing work, you probably also need trauma-focused therapy like EMDR, CPT, or PE to actually work through the traumatic memories. Think of DBT as teaching you to stabilize and cope while doing trauma work, not replacing trauma work entirely.

Mindfulness in DBT means paying attention to the present moment without judgment. Not thinking about the past or worrying about the future—just being here now, noticing what's happening. The main mindfulness skills are observe by noticing what's going on without reacting, describe by putting into words what you're experiencing without interpretation, and participate to get fully involved in what you're doing. You practice these one-mindfully focusing on one thing at a time, non-judgmentally without labeling things good or bad, and effectively doing what works rather than what's right. Mindfulness is the foundation for all other DBT skills because you can't manage emotions or use skills if you're not even aware of what's happening.

Anyones, motivation can vary over time. Set a predictable schedule where you review the material, create accountability that your spending time reviewing and practicing skills, and provide reminders to yourself from time to time on why you started in the first place. Having a process to continually motivate yourself will be helpful to establish intrinsic motivation to go through the program and practice skills on your own time. If you still need additional accountability to adhere to treatment, it would be helpful to couple the self guided program with individual therapy with a DBT specialist or an online DBT skills therapy group which we do provide.

Teens can definitely learn and benefit from DBT skills. Younger teens might need some parent involvement to stay on track, but the content itself works for adolescents. The program works best for motivated teens who want to learn skills, possibly with parent support. For younger teens (13-15), parent involvement in reviewing materials and supporting practice increases success. Mature older teens (16-19) may use independently effectively.

No, the DBT self-guided program doesn't provide continuing education credits for mental health professionals. This program is appropriate for personal learning only.

You get lifetime access with this one time purchase. So once you purchase you get unlimited access, and can watch and rewatch and use the materials as much as you’d like. Your access never expires.