Session 2: Dialectical Behavioral Therapy for Recreational Therapists

Session 2:

Dialectical Behavioral Therapy for Recreational Therapists

Presented by: Jennifer Kangas, M.A. , LPC

Friday, October 28, 2015, at 9:30 a.m.

Danny Pettry’s Mental Health Workshop for Recreational Therapists at River Park Hospital, in Huntington, WV

A Review by Danny Pettry

Goals of this session included:

·         Identify at least three symptoms associated with a diagnosis of BPD according to the DSM-5

·         Identify the four skill sets that taught in DBT and the evidenced based outcomes for these skill sets

·         Identify one way a Recreation Therapist can be involved in a treatment team that uses a DBT approach.

I’ll briefly share some information regarding the goals of this session (that were listed above).

Jennifer works full-time as a therapist for children and teens in an acute-care psychiatric setting. She has advanced training in DBT.

Here are some brief points that I recall from this session:

• Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) was created by Marsha Linehan, specifically for the treatment for people who have Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD).
• DBT is now used to treat various mental health needs (eating disorders, mood disorders) and for people with traumatic brain injury.
• DBT is heavily based on validation of a person with unconditional positive regard.
• In DBT, four main skills are taught. These include: distress tolerance skills, interpersonal effectiveness skills, mindfulness meditation skills, and emotional regulation skills.
• DBT is a very good model for RTs. Those trained in DBT can provide manyeducation about how to use the skills, why to use the skills, and implement activity-based interventions to allow individuals to gain awareness and practice using these skills. 

Here are some resources she shared:

• What is DBT? http://behavioraltech.org/resources/whatisdbt.cfm
• BPD fact sheet: http://www2.nami.org/factsheets/bpd_factsheet.pdf
• Marsha Linehan biography: http://blogs.uw.edu/linehan/
• No Longer Wanting to Die: http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2015/05/16/no-longer-wanting-to-die/?_r=0

Understanding Borderline Personality Disorder

· TR Knowledge Areas:

Foundation Knowledge: Psychiatric disorders and related impairments (with an emphasis on Borderline Personality Disorder)

· Five (5) Clock Hours or (0.5) CEUs. Notice ten (10) Clock Hours = 1.0 CEUs

· Independent self-study learner will demonstrate a basic awareness of Borderline Personality Disorder as evidenced by reading I Hate You, Don't Leave Me: Understanding the Borderline Personalty by Jerold Kreisman and Hal Straus (2010) and passing an online written exam based on the book with a score of at least 70% or better within a one-year timeframe.

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Dialectical Behavior Therapy and Recreational Therapy

· TR Knowledge Areas:

Foundation Knowledge: Theories of human behavior and theories of behavior change, Principles of behavior change (CBT Model is covered)

Practice of TR/RT: Concepts of TR/RT: DBT Interventions

· Five (5) Clock Hours or (0.5) CEUs. Notice ten (10) Clock Hours = 1.0 CEUs

· Course Objective: Independent self-study learner will demonstrate a basic awareness of the theories and basic concepts of dialectical behavior therapy as evidenced by reading Sheri Van Dijk’s (2012) DBT make simple and passing an online written exam with a score of at least 70% or better within a one-year timeframe.

This course is currently as a discounted price! Regular price is $80.

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