Dialectical Behaviour Therapy

Has anyone found DBT too difficult? I have problems filling in progress forms, remembering skills without referring back to the literature again and again. I dropped out because I hated it, I found it very tedious. Am I alone?

It IS tedious, lol. Four modules, and depending on how long you're in the group therapy, you can revisit each module at least 8 times!

I found DBT to be helpful for some things, but not others unfortunately.

lol, I just got kicked out of my DBT group and weekly therapy. They won't re-admit me for another 6 months, but I'm debating whether or not I want to attempt it again.

My issue with DBT was the way everyone was "handled". I often times felt the moderators treated us like....... And I know how politically incorrect this is, but I REALLY can't think of another term for it....... Everyone was basically treated and talked to like a mentally retarded person. The dialog and tone from the mods often felt pandering and condescending. Except for one moderator during my first module, who kept it very "real", most of the mods seemed unable to relate, and almost seemed afraid of us..... It was a bit insulting......

I also just felt the "skills" were things that I have already tried in life, and they didn't work before. I got the idea that DBT was merely teaching us how to mimic being "normal". Yes, I want to get better, but I'm not about to be a phony just to make the general public happy.

I'm not trying to s--- talk DBT, perhaps I need to give it another chance. I know it works well for a lot of people. Also, I was taking DBT through a government run clinic, so perhaps it wasn't the "best" quality. I also just found out that I've been receiving therapy from interns....... Not actual therapists. I was not made aware of this until recently. I don't know how to feel about it :/ but that's another story.....

Last spring, when I was researching DBT group classes, I decided not to enroll for the same reasons anon47 described. What I did was use a couple of CBT and DBT workbooks. I set aside time every evening to go through it, I noted the things I wanted to work on during the week, and I also downloaded a couple of apps for my phone so that I could refresh myself during the day whenever I found myself in a challenging situation (If you don't have a smartphone, jotting down a list on a scrap piece of paper or a little notebook is just as effective). It takes self discipline, but I felt highly motivated to learn some basic life skills for myself.

I think the main problem with group classes like this is that everyone is on a different level but are forced to go through at the same pace, which can be maddening and will defeat the purpose for some.

These days I still keep a list of statements on my phone to reference whenever I'm feeling overwhelmed and I need to be reminded to keep things in perspective or to practice one of the skills I learned but am currently forgetting.

DBT is tricky because a lot of the stuff seems really basic on the surface. You have to be in a place where you are receptive to it and able to build self-awareness. Something can appear to me one day to be really stupid and basic, and then cause an "AHA!" learning moment the next.

I've been lucky because the social workers I have had have mostly been really caring and empathetic. I have had a couple that came off as aggressive motivational-speaker types, in a way that made me feel like a crap person for being hopeless/suicidal (I've been through horrible depression and a bunch of hospitalizations). But I think if you have the opportunity to keep trying and you find that magic spot where you are open to DBT, have good instructors and have outside support for your illness, it can be much more beneficial than it appears. I've done (and dropped out of) a couple of different programs and I am about to do a condensed one in a one-week partial hospitalization program. I think I'm in a better place now than I have been before so I hope to push through and get more out of it this time I around.

I love/hate DBT. This is something I have told my psychologist. I think these are skills so basic that we all know of and sometimes I feel dumb having to hear how I'm supposed to act when I already know it. If I could act like the skills teach me, I would because it would certainly avoid me many problems. The thing is that every time I try to practice a skill, I feel like I'm not being true to myself. I feel like I'm acting, and it's exhausting. Also, it means that I have to change who I am to become this socially accepted person, and I find that's nor fair. I just think I have to revisit the emotional regulation module about ten more time ps to see if I can finally get a grip.

I've just started DBT with my therapist. Well, a little over a month ago. I'm not doing the group aspect, however.
Establishing the basic concepts has seemed impossible, not because I'm daft or slow to learn, but because I can't internalize the concepts. So far, the process has been very enlightening in that for the first time, I'm having to form a deeper understanding of just how emotionally crippled I am.
I've been in and out of therapy for most of my life. Although I'm terrified, this process may save my life. It's like CBT+++, for the seriously emotionally handicapped crowd. It's hard work for me, but I feel like this is it. This could be my last chance to survive myself. Either I apply myself to the process or I stand to lose everything.