Nikolas Kidman

Following the comprehensive assessment at our first appointment, we will have a few individual sessions (this is the pre-treatment stage) prior to beginning the treatment stage. The pre-treatment stage functions to orient you to treatment, increase your commitment and to identify treatment targets. After pre-treatment, we will begin the treatment phase. Comprehensive DBT requires all four modes of treatment:

1. Individual therapy weekly

2. Skills training weekly – typically done in a group format, but more like a class than traditional group therapy

3. Phone coaching – between-session phone contact to help with using the skills in real-life situations or in crisis situations

4. Therapy consultation team – your DBT therapist must participate in a consultation team of other DBT therapists to ensure they are providing the most effective treatment possible

Treatment is done in six-month increments because it takes six months to get through one ‘round’ of skills training. Usually, most people go two rounds for a full year of treatment, but we’ll re-assess your needs after the first six months and decide if further treatment is necessary.

Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) is an evidence-based treatment designed to help manage impulsive behaviors, emotional responses, and self-destructive urges. Originally developed as a comprehensive cognitive-behavioral treatment for chronically suicidal individuals with borderline personality disorder, DBT has since been shown to be highly effective for various other concerns, including substance use disorders, depression, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and eating disorders.

In DBT, the client and therapist collaborate to identify the obstacles preventing the client from achieving a "life worth living." Together, they work on reducing these problems while simultaneously increasing functional behaviors.

DBT incorporates both acceptance and change strategies to validate the client’s experiences while also encouraging them to pursue their goals and the life they desire.In DBT, the client and therapist work collaboratively to determine what is getting in the way of the client’s ‘life worth living.’ The problems are targeted to decrease while simultaneously increasing functional behaviors.

Acceptance and change strategies are interwoven throughout DBT to both validate the client’s experiences and to also push them toward their goals and the life they want to live.

Watch the video below for a brief overview of the treatment.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1HMQubkRzx4

EMDR is a structured therapy that encourages the patient to focus briefly on the trauma memory while simultaneously experiencing bilateral stimulation (such as eye movements, audio or tactile), which is associated with a reduction in the vividness and emotion associated with the trauma memories. Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) therapy is an extensively researched, effective psychotherapy method proven to help people recover from trauma and PTSD symptoms. Ongoing research supports positive clinical outcomes, showing EMDR therapy as a helpful treatment for disorders such as anxiety, depression, OCD, chronic pain, addictions, and other distressing life experiences