Individual Therapy

Individual therapy consists of weekly one-on-one sessions with a therapist that is very well-versed in both DBT and cognitive behavior therapy (CBT) principles, techniques, and interventions (Linehan, 2015). These sessions include homework, especially completion of the weekly diary card.

 The diary card (DBT_diary_card.pdf) helps the client self-monitor between sessions and is a critical component to help track urges, moods, how the client is or is not using the DBT skills, as well as identify emotions (Pederson, 2016). This helps the therapist assist the client in noticing patterns or triggers that may be interfering with individual life-worth-living goals, particularly when the client is experiencing significant chaos (Pederson, 2016). The therapist will also be engaged with the client in repeatedly conducting a behavioral chain analysis—a technique designed to help an individual understand the function of a behavior—as well as prioritizing targets based on a system of hierarchy (Chain-Analysis-Worksheet.pdf) (Swenson & Linehan, 2016). 

Additionally, the therapist may conduct formal assessments (Vaughn, 2018). For instance, if the client is presenting with a higher/increased risk of suicidality, DBT requires the Linehan Suicide Risk Assessment and Management Protocol be administered (Linehan, 2015).