Upcoming Training

DBT courses

British Isles DBT Training reserve the right to substitute trainers and/or move venues or postpone and reschedule courses. This will only be done in exceptional circumstances and all attendees will be notified as soon as the decision has been made. If attendees are unable to attend a rescheduled event they will be given full credit to be used against a future training course.

If you decide to reserve and pay for accommodation in advance we recommend you read the PAY LATER BOOKINGS section in the Hotels cancellation policy. 

DBT Taster Workshop 27 January 2014

What is DBT? This one day workshop aims to give participants an overview of the structure of the treatment, along with demonstrations of some of the techniques used in its implementation.

Adapting your DBT Programme for Substance Use Disorders 27-28 February 2014

This two-day workshop covers the modifications made when applying Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT) to clients with Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) and substance use disorders.  Participants specifically learn how DBT, when applied to populations with co-morbid disorders, differs from standard DBT for BPD clients in the way that DBT is targeted, how behavioural skills are taught in skills training group, how to engage clients in therapy at the beginning of treatment, strategies for not losing clients during treatment, and how therapists are supported when clients are in danger of dropping out of therapy.

This workshop is intended for those who have knowledge of standard DBT.

Skills Essentials in DBT Workshop 20-21 March 2014

This two-day workshop covers the fundamentals of DBT Skills: Core Mindfulness, Distress Tolerance, Emotion Regulation, and Interpersonal Effectiveness. Participants learn how to set up a group, the group goals and guidelines, begin to teach skills, be a co-leader, identify and solve common problems in skills groups, make skills lectures come alive, give meaningful homework assignments, and review homework assignments in a way that promotes active engagement with different client populations and settings.

This course is designed for all mental health professionals who want to learn to teach or improve their teaching of DBT skills to clients.

Dialectical Behaviour Therapy Intensive Training 31 March -4 April 2014

This training is intended for teams that are invested in learning DBT to a high standard in order to better implement the treatment in their settings. As DBT is a treatment that requires an ongoing consultation team, the Intensive Training is designed for treatment teams, not individual practitioners intending to practice alone.

A DBT team (minimum of 4, maximum of 10) is a group of mental health professionals who meet at least weekly to assist each other in applying DBT in their practice setting. Training is conducted in two five-day sessions of instruction divided by six to nine months of home study and requires a high level of dedication so we ask teams to discuss their level of commitment prior to applying.

At Part I DBT theory and strategies are taught in-depth. Between sessions, participants consolidate and apply what they have learned with the help of treatment practice assignments and a take-home exam.  Teams are expected to design and begin to implement their own DBT programmes or integrate DBT into an ongoing treatment setting. At Part II, each team presents their work and receives expert consultation on specific cases and on their programme, including protocols for specific treatment problems and adaptations of DBT.

Adapting your DBT Programme: Helping Emotionally Dysregulated & Suicidal Teens 8-9 May 2014

Mental health professionals working with suicidal adolescents with multiple problems are often stymied by complex clinical presentations and challenges that arise during treatment.  Learn how to apply comprehensive DBT to an adolescent population to engage and retain clients.  This training covers how to convey the biosocial theory of DBT to adolescents and families, describe dialectical dilemmas relevant to adolescents and families, and structure and run multi-family skills training groups.

Dialectical Behaviour Therapy Foundational Training 15-19 September 2014

The five day Foundational training is designed specifically for an individual or a small group of therapists (maximum of 4) who are members of an Intensively Trained DBT Team, but who have not been intensively trained themselves.  It is not a substitute for Intensive Training but is meant to assist teams that have employed new staff or experienced staff turnover.

The training will cover the standard content of DBT (equivalent to Part I of the 10 day Intensive Training).  It will also assume that all participants work in an active DBT Programme, participate in a consultation team, and work within a comprehensively trained team.

Post Graduate Certificate in DBT

The PG Cert in DBT is designed to help practitioners either currently learning DBT on an Intensive Training course or who have previously completed the Intensive Training to develop both their theoretical grasp of the treatment and to advance their clinical application of the treatment at both the level of their programme and the individual clinical case. The course is delivered via distance learning through Bangor University, all the teaching element is covered by full attendance at the 10 days of the Intensive Training.

DBT Masterclass Please contact us for further details

The DBT Masterclass provides an opportunity for Intensively trained DBT practitioners either alone or in teams to receive consultation about both their programmes and their clinical work.  The Masterclass is a small group context where practitioners receive personalised consultation for the challenges they are experiencing in delivering the treatment in their own healthcare context.  Drs Heard and Swales, two internationally renowned experts in DBT, will run the consultation based on the problems that participants submit in advance.  Previous participants have found attending helpful in clarifying key aspects of case conceptualisation, in refining individual therapy skills and in solving problems of programme implementation.

DBT: Treating Clients with Borderline PersonalityDisorder and Substance Use Disorders

This two-day workshop covers the modifications made when applying DBT to clients with Borderline Personality Disorder and substance use disorders.  Participants specifically learn how DBT, when applied to populations with comorbid disorders, differs from standard DBT for BPD clients in the way that DBT is targeted, how behavioural skills are taught in skills training group, how to engage clients in therapy at the beginning of treatment, strategies for not losing clients during treatment, and how therapists are supported when clients are in danger of dropping out of therapy.

DBT on the ‘Front Lines’ Workshop Please contact us for further details

Many clients spend more time with support staff than they do with their clinically licensed and trained DBT or non-DBT therapists.  This training is designed for all clinical front-line support staff in a wide range of treatment contexts.  Participants will learn the basic principles of DBT, and how to structure contact with clients around DBT assumptions, agreements, and targets.  The role of front-line staff members in DBT programmes will be clarified, especially the relationship with the DBT team and the individual therapist.

DBT with Adolescents: Helping Emotionally Dysregulated and Suicidal Teens

Mental health professionals working with suicidal adolescents with multiple problems are often stymied by complex clinical presentations and challenges that arise during treatment.  Learn how to apply comprehensive DBT to an adolescent population to engage and retain clients.  This training covers how to convey the biosocial theory of DBT to adolescents and families, describe dialectical dilemmas relevant to adolescents and families, and structure and run multi-family skills training groups.

Participants will advance their ability in specific principles and strategies relevant to skills training and coaching with adolescents and families, individual therapy, family sessions, and managing communication and coaching outside of session. Specific attention will be paid to teaching adolescents and families the skills of dialectics, validation, and behaviour change (the “Middle Path”)

Treating PTSD in DBT with High Risk Clients Please contact the office for further details

Approximately 50 percent of individuals with Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) have post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and this co-morbid diagnosis increases suicide risk and general impairment in this client population.  Learn one of the newest developments in DBT research and practice – how to effectively and safely integrate PTSD treatment into DBT for high-risk BPD clients.  Learn how to use DBT to prepare high-risk BPD clients for PTSD treatment, determine when clients are ready to begin PTSD treatment, and address common difficulties encountered during PTSD treatment with this complex client population.

This two-day training is a highly practical, applied workshop that provides participants with a thorough working knowledge of the structure and procedures of the DBT Prolonged Exposure protocol for PTSD. This training is intended for clinicians who are already familiar with DBT and exposure-based treatments.