Advanced Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) for Social Work Practice

This course provides social workers with advanced DBT skills, covering theory, core modules, interventions, and applications with a trauma-informed, culturally responsive lens.

🕒 4 CE HOURS

COURSE LEVEL: INTERMEDIATE

Date of course creation/update: 04/29/2025

CE Broker Tracking NO: #20-1354061

Education Pathways, LLC provider #2485, is approved as an ACE provider to offer social work continuing education by the Association of Social Work Boards (ASWB) Approved Continuing Education (ACE) program. Regulatory boards are the final authority on courses accepted for continuing education credit. ACE provider approval period: 02/05/2026–02/05/2027. Social workers completing this course receive 4 Clinical continuing education credits.

This online reading-based asynchronous distance learning course :

Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) is an evidence-based, integrative treatment approach designed to help individuals struggling with emotional dysregulation, self-destructive behaviors, and interpersonal difficulties. Originally developed for borderline personality disorder, DBT has expanded to treat a range of complex mental health issues, including trauma, substance use disorders, and suicidal ideation. This course offers social workers an in-depth exploration of DBT’s theoretical foundations, core modules, advanced interventions, and real-world applications. Participants will cultivate the skills necessary to integrate DBT into diverse practice settings while maintaining a trauma-informed, culturally responsive lens.

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Learning Objectives:

Analyze how DBT synthesizes behavioral science, mindfulness, and cognitive therapy principles.
Explain the stages of DBT treatment and goals associated with each stage.
Apply strategies for identifying emotions, reducing vulnerability, and teaching emotion regulation skills.
Apply distress tolerance and interpersonal effectiveness interventions in clinical scenarios.
Formulate DBT adaptations for clients with co-occurring conditions such as PTSD, substance use, and eating disorders.
Critically assess therapist competencies, validation strategies, and dialectical methods for effective DBT practice.
Develop ethical decision-making frameworks and implementation plans for sustaining DBT programs across diverse settings.

View Course Timed Agenda

Theoretical Foundations and Evolution of DBT (20 minutes)

Origins of DBT: Marsha Linehan’s development and early research
Dialectics: balancing acceptance and change
Biosocial theory: emotional vulnerability and invalidating environments
Behavioral science roots: operant conditioning and behavior change
Integration of mindfulness and CBT principles
Populations benefiting from DBT beyond borderline personality disorder
Expansion to trauma, substance use, eating disorders, and adolescents
Evolving evidence base across diverse settings

Core Components of DBT Treatment Structure (98 minutes)

Four primary treatment modes: individual therapy, group skills training, phone coaching, consultation team
Functions and rationale behind each mode
Four treatment stages in DBT
Commitment strategies: pre-treatment agreements and orientation
Crisis management and session structure
Building a validating yet change-oriented treatment environment

Deep Dive into DBT Skills: Mindfulness and Emotion Regulation (50 minutes)

Mindfulness as the foundation skill set
What, Why, and How skills
Wise Mind, Observe, Describe, Participate
One-Mindfully, Nonjudgmentally, Effectively
Teaching mindfulness across populations
Emotion regulation: functions of emotions, labeling, reducing vulnerability (PLEASE skills)
Increasing positive experiences and building mastery
Opposite Action strategies
Barriers to learning mindfulness and emotion regulation

Deep Dive into DBT Skills: Distress Tolerance and Interpersonal Effectiveness (22 minutes)

Distress tolerance: acceptance vs. change
Crisis survival strategies: TIPP, distracting, self-soothing
Reality acceptance: radical acceptance, willingness, turning the mind
Teaching problem-solving vs. acceptance
Interpersonal effectiveness: assertiveness and relationship maintenance
DEAR MAN, GIVE, FAST skill sets
Adapting skills for cultural, developmental, and contextual considerations

Applying DBT to Complex and Co-Occurring Conditions (22 minutes)

DBT for adolescents: Multi-family Skills Group, caregiver coaching
DBT-PE: Prolonged Exposure protocols for PTSD
DBT for substance use disorders: replacing addictive behaviors
DBT for eating disorders: addressing body image and dysregulation
Managing multiple diagnoses and complex presentations
Case conceptualization using biosocial and behavioral models
Addressing treatment-interfering behaviors (TIBs)
Case study application

Advanced Practice Issues: Therapist Competencies, Ethics, and Implementation Challenges (28 minutes)

Core DBT therapist skills and characteristics
Validation strategies: levels and pitfalls
Dialectical strategies: balancing acceptance and change
Ethical dilemmas in DBT practice
Confidentiality and client safety
Crisis calls and phone coaching boundaries
Informed consent and risk documentation
Therapist burnout and vicarious trauma
Building and sustaining consultation teams
Implementation strategies across outpatient, inpatient, schools, and community mental health
Organizational challenges and system-level adaptations
Case study application

Total Minutes: 240 (4 CEUs)

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