The Benefits of DBT Group for Emotionally Sensitive Teens

When it comes to navigating intense emotions, it’s common for teenagers to feel overwhelmed or stressed. If your teen gets caught up in overwhelming emotions, accessing and using their usual coping skills can be incredibly difficult. Sometimes, even a parent suggesting coping strategies can make the teen even more emotional and frustrated. This is because extreme emotional arousal disrupts brain function, making it hard for them to process or recall information. This is where Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) in a group setting comes in. DBT teaches practical skills that emotionally sensitive teens can use to regulate themselves effectively. 

For example, one of the skills we teach teens in Mindful Healing’s DBT group is the TIPP skill: Temperature change (such as holding an ice cube), Intense exercise, Paced breathing, and Progressive muscle relaxation. The TIPP skill works to jump-start the parasympathetic nervous system, which leads to relaxation. While this and all the other skills we teach teens in DBT group may not eliminate all feelings of distress or discomfort, they can help your teen manage the crisis and navigate their overwhelming emotions more effectively. Once the immediate intensity passes, they’ll be in a better position to apply other DBT skills and address the underlying issues.

You might be wondering, why can’t an emotionally sensitive teen learn DBT skills in individual therapy? Why does it have to be in a group? Well, DBT was designed to be multi-faceted and collaborative because that’s what will help your teen the most! The standard DBT model includes weekly individual therapy, weekly group therapy, and often involves parent or family therapy and coaching. Research supports this framework as highly effective for high-needs, high-risk clients, such as teens with severe depression, suicidality, and life-interfering anxiety. When your teen joins a group of other teens who share similar struggles, it can be incredibly validating. It reinforces the idea that they’re not alone and helps them understand that their feelings don’t make them “bad.” It also gives your teen new friends to practice their skills with in group sessions, as well as someone to be accountable to for practicing skills at home or school. 

The extreme emotional states your teen experiences might be hard to manage with traditional strategies, but DBT’s comprehensive approach, including group therapy, can provide the skills your teen needs to manage the hard times and get through to the other side. Click here to learn more about our DBT Skills Group at Mindful Healing and sign up today!