DBT Skills & Support: Outpatient
Programs for Parents and Caregivers

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Your Guide to Outpatient DBT
for Caregivers & Parents

You are here because parenting an adolescent with intense emotions, mood instability, or high-conflict behaviors has left you feeling overwhelmed, exhausted, and isolated. You need more than advice. That's why we focus on teaching practical strategies, because parents can benefit from concrete skills.

This page is the central resource for Outpatient DBT Programs designed specifically for parents and caregivers in New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut. These programs are flexible, evidence-based, and built to empower you with the powerful tools of Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT), helping you to reduce family conflict, manage your own stress, and create a calm, emotionally supportive home environment.

Choosing Your Path: Three Programs for Every Level of Support

Metro NY DBT Center offers three distinct programs to meet the needs of every parent and caregiver. You can choose the format that best fits your family's needs for schedule, privacy, and community.

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Weekly DBT Skills Group (Structured Learning & Community)

The DBT Skills Group is a structured, ongoing program that teaches you the core DBT modules (Mindfulness, Distress Tolerance, Emotion Regulation, and Interpersonal Effectiveness) alongside other parents. This format provides an invaluable community and a consistent learning schedule.

  • Format: Weekly, structured group sessions.
  • Focus: Core skills mastery adapted for family use; community support.
  • Ideal If: You thrive in a collaborative environment and want a consistent, weekly commitment to skills training.

Individual DBT Parent & Caregiver Coaching (Personalized & Confidential)

Individual Coaching is a private, one-on-one service that is highly personalized and tailored to your unique family dynamics. You work directly with a clinician to problem-solve specific, real-time scenarios and practice skills application.

  • Format: Confidential, one-on-one sessions with an expert DBT clinician.
  • Focus: Personalized problem-solving, skill application to specific conflicts, and strengthening your own emotional regulation.
  • Ideal If: You prefer privacy, need direct feedback on sensitive issues, and require maximum flexibility in scheduling and agenda.
Young woman with dark hair smiling, talking on a cell phone at a desk. A plant and pens are in the background.
Young woman with dark hair smiling, talking on a cell phone at a desk. A plant and pens are in the background.

The DBT Intensive Program (Accelerated Skills Training)

For parents seeking to jumpstart their skills learning in a concentrated timeframe, the seasonal DBT Intensive Program is the accelerated option. This program covers the full curriculum in just 7 weeks.

  • Format: Accelerated, 7-week cohort model.
  • Focus: Rapid mastery of all four core DBT modules and immediate application to family crises.
  • Ideal If: You need to learn the skills quickly and are ready for a strong commitment to attendance over a shorter period.

The Metro NY DBT Difference

At Metro NY DBT Center, we provide adherent DBT, which means we include all the components that make the treatment effective, including essential in-the-moment DBT coaching.

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An Essential Part of Treatment: We include phone coaching because it is proven to help clients get better, faster.

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Expert, In-the-Moment Support: Get guidance from your dedicated therapist who knows you and your goals.

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Focus on Empowerment: We don't just solve the problem for you; we teach you how to solve it yourself.

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A Commitment to Your Success: Our goal is to help you build a life you experience as worth living.

Frequently Asked Questions About DBT Phone Coaching

  • How does DBT phone coaching differ from therapy sessions?

    Therapy focus on processing events, learning new material, and analyzing behavioral patterns. Phone coaching calls are very brief (5-15 minutes) and are exclusively focused on providing immediate, in-the-moment skills coaching for DBT in CT, NJ, and NYC to help you navigate a current situation.

  • When should I call for DBT phone coaching?

    The rule of thumb is to call before you act on an unhelpful urge. You should call your therapist when you feel an urge to engage in a behavior you are trying to stop (like self-harm, yelling in a conflict, or avoiding a responsibility) and want help using a skill instead.

  • Is DBT phone coaching private?

    Yes. Just like your therapy sessions, phone coaching calls are completely confidential and are considered a part of your clinical treatment, protected by HIPAA.

  • How do I access phone coaching if I’m a new client?

    Phone coaching is a core component of our comprehensive DBT program. Once you begin individual therapy and skills group at our center, your therapist will review the specific guidelines for phone coaching with you, including when to call and how to reach them.