• Skip to main content
  • Skip to main content
Choose which site to search.
University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences Logo University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences
Psychiatric Research Institute
  • UAMS Health
  • Jobs
  • Giving
  • Clinical Care
    • AR ConnectNow
      • Frequently Asked Questions
      • Mental Health Resources
      • Substance Abuse Facilities
      • Contact AR ConnectNow
    • Center for Trauma Prevention, Recovery and Innovation
      • About Us
        • Collaborations
        • Our Team
      • In The Media
      • Resources
      • Training & Education
        • Education For The Public
        • Training For Professionals
      • What Is Trauma?
    • Child Study Center
      • Dialectical Behavior Therapy
      • Family Resources
        • Handouts for Parents
        • Books
        • Videos
      • Meet the Team
      • Treatment and Services
    • Interventional Psychiatry
      • Electroconvulsive Therapy
      • Esketamine
      • Ketamine Infusions
    • Neurodiversity Clinic
    • Northwest Arkansas Crisis Stabilization Unit
    • STRIVE
    • The Couples Center
      • Helping Couples Expand Their Love Capacities
      • Interdynamic Couples Therapy
      • SOS for Cabin Fever Couples
      • The Essentials of Sex Therapy
      • 2023 Training Opportunities and Certification Program with Chelsea Wakefield, Ph.D., LCSW
      • 2023 Training Schedule
    • Walker Family Clinic
      • Mental Health Resources
    • Women’s Mental Health Program
    • Center for Addiction Services and Treatment (CAST)
      • Improving Access To Treatment For Opioid Use Disorder
      • MATRIARC
        • Project ECHO
      • Medication and Counseling Treatment
      • Medications To Treat Opioid Use Disorders
      • Optimizing Retention, Duration and Discontinuation Strategies for Opioid Use Disorder Pharmacotherapy (RDD)
      • Suboxone Treatment Program
      • Subutex Treatment Program
      • What is Buprenorphine?
      • What Is Methadone?
      • What Is Naltrexone?
      • What Is Vivitrol?
      • Drugs and Addiction
      • Opioid Use Disorder
    • Inpatient Units
      • Child Diagnostic Unit
        • Child Diagnostic Unit Videos
      • Women’s Inpatient Unit – 5 North
    • Pulaski County Regional Crisis Stabilization Unit
      • Operation SAVE
    • Neuropsychology
    • Psychiatry Clinic in Fayetteville
  • Education
    • For Current Residents
  • Research
    • Center for Addiction Research
      • Optimizing Retention, Duration and Discontinuation Strategies for Opioid Use Disorder Pharmacotherapy (RDD)
      • What is Vivitrol?
      • Faculty
        • Alison Oliveto, Ph.D
        • Linda Larson-Prior, Ph.D.
        • Merideth Addicott, Ph.D.
        • Michael Mancino, M.D.
        • Nihit Kumar, M.D.
    • Center for Health Services Research
      • Behavioral Health QUERI
      • Health Services Research and Development Service
      • Rural Outreach Program
        • Rural Outreach Program Team
      • South Central (VISN 16) Mental Illness Research, Education and Clinical Center
      • Center for Health Services Research Faculty and Staff
        • Brandon J. Griffin, Ph.D.
        • Carolyn J. Greene, Ph.D.
        • Christopher Long, Ph.D.
        • Corey Hayes, Pharm.D., Ph.D., MPH
        • Eva Woodward, Ph.D.
        • Jacob Painter, Pharm.D, Ph.D.
        • Leah Tobey, PT, DPT, MBA
        • Marcela Weber, Ph.D.
        • Mary J. Bollinger, MPH, Ph.D.
        • Melissa J. Zielinski, Ph.D.
        • Michael Cucciare, Ph.D.
        • Michael Wilson, M.D., Ph.D., FAAEM, FACEP
        • Prasad R. Padala, M.D., M.S., FACHE
        • Rajinder “Sonia” Singh, Ph.D.
        • Sara J. Landes, Ph.D.
        • Traci Abraham, Ph.D.
        • Angie Waliski, Ph.D.
        • Ellen P. Fischer, Ph.D.
        • Geoffrey M. Curran, Ph.D.
        • Greer Sullivan, M.D., M.S.P.H.
        • Jeffrey M. Pyne, M.D.
        • JoAnn Kirchner, M.D.
        • Joy Reeves Pemberton, Ph.D.
        • Karen Drummond, Ph.D.
        • Kristen M. Viverito, Psy.D.
        • Puru Thapa, M.D., M.P.H.
        • Richard R. Owen, M.D.
        • Teresa Hudson, Pharm.D., Ph.D.
        • Teresa L. Kramer, Ph.D.
      • Postdoctoral Fellowship
        • CeMHOR/HSR&D
        • MIRECC
    • Health and the Legal System (HEALS) Lab
      • Projects in the Health and the Legal System (HEALS) Lab
    • Helen L. Porter and James T. Dyke Brain Imaging Research Center
      • Childhood Trauma Study
      • Directions to BIRC
      • Events
      • MRI Frequently Asked Questions
      • Prospective Collaborators
      • Prospective Participants
      • Prospective Trainees
      • Publications
      • Media
      • Resources
    • Neurocognitive Dynamics Laboratory
      • Current Studies
    • Neurodevelopmental Risk and Resilience Program
    • Research Trials
  • Patients and Visitors
    • Advisory Board
    • Art of the Psychiatric Research Institute
    • Mental Health Resources
    • Mission And Vision Statements
    • Positions at the Psychiatric Research Institute
    • Map and Directions
    • Faculty and Staff
    • Giving
  1. University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences
  2. Psychiatric Research Institute
  3. Clinical Care
  4. Child Study Center
  5. Dialectical Behavior Therapy

Dialectical Behavior Therapy

front

The Dialectical Behavior Therapy Skills Group for teens and families meets weekly on Mondays from 3:30 to 5:00 p.m. at the Child Study Center. The caregiver must attend with the teen, and plan to participate for six months to a year.

Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) is an evidence-based treatment designed to help teens (ages 13-17) who experience significant difficulty managing their thoughts, emotions, behaviors, and family conflict. Teens and their caregiver(s) participate in a weekly multifamily group to learn skills.

DBT has helped teens with any or all of the following:

  • Mood disturbances (e.g., frequent mood swings, depression, anxiety, anger)
  • Impulsive, disruptive, and risky behavior (e.g., substance use, sexual behavior, disordered eating)
  • Self-injury and/or suicidal thoughts and behaviors
  • Polarized or extreme thinking patterns
  • Poor perspective taking
  • Family and peer conflict
  • Identity confusion

Teens and their caregiver(s) learn skills in the following modules:

  • Mindfulness: focusing the mind, directing attention, and identifying and describing internal experiences without judgement, which helps reduce reactivity to situations and develop a sense of self and personal goals
  • Distress Tolerance: decreasing impulsivity by learning how to tolerate painful emotions without making the situation worse or engaging in problematic or risky behavior
  • Walking the Middle Path: reducing extreme and non-balanced thinking and behavior; strengthening perspective-taking, methods to change behavior, and validation
  • Emotion Regulation: reducing emotional sensitivity, increasing positive moods, reducing vulnerability to intense emotions, and identifying and using emotional experiences effectively
  • Interpersonal Effectiveness: addressing difficulties in maintaining consistent and rewarding relationships; learning how to effectively ask for what you want, how to say no and maintain boundaries, and strengthen self-respect in the face of external pressures

DBT Skills Group is only one aspect of a comprehensive DBT treatment program. Research does show participating in DBT Skills Group only is associated with improvement in mental health symptoms.

For general inquiries and referrals, contact the clinic at CSCDBT@uams.edu.

Psychiatric Research Institute LogoPsychiatric Research InstitutePsychiatric Research Institute
Mailing Address: 4224 Shuffield Drive, Little Rock, AR 72205
Phone: (501) 526-8100
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • YouTube
  • LinkedIn
  • Pinterest
  • Disclaimer
  • Terms of Use
  • Privacy Statement

© 2023 University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences