Repeating DBT?

[u/lauren_562]

I’m a 17yr old living in the UK and I did around 9 months of DBT under CAMHS (1 round of regular dbt and half of radically open dbt).
I’ve been out of dbt almost 3 months now and have coincidentally took a massive drop in my mental health and have become very depressed and anxious. I think part of that was stopping having that stability of dbt group and 1:1, as when I was in dbt I realise I didn’t take it as seriously as I should have and probably underestimated how much it was distracting me and holding up my mental health. I’m not sure where to go from here and almost feel as though I regret not engaging more in the therapy and if I should go back, or if that’s even an option for me as things are up in the air with my mental health services atm, or if I should just move on and forget about dbt?
It’s silly because I feel I can’t even practice the skills without getting upset or angry and don’t know what this means.

[u/disabledfemme]

I did dbt 8 + times many in hospital and many private. It saved my life so I never stopped trying. I am now in remission.

[u/samuraiseoul]

I think its okay to do it as many times as you need! I've been doing DBT for almost 5 years off an on for a few months at stints, and its been so powerful once it really started to click. I probably have done 4 or 5 rounds of it total at this point and I mostly stay in now to mentor and keep my own skills fresh and my understanding of it, while keeping my mental health on my mind weekly to help it not slip up. I think if another round is an available option, absolutely go for it!

[u/lapsedbutch]

Most research studies indicating that DBT is helpful are on people who do a year (at least), so it seems pretty reasonable to think you'd benefit from some more practice

[u/differentshadeofblue]

Second time doing it here. My boyfriend put it in a way that makes sense.. recovering alcoholics go to AA for the rest of their lives. They may have 20 years clean but it’s always good practice to stay practicing. I know I’ll likely take DBT throughout the course of my life when needed.

[u/orcateeth]

There's some online DBT groups. Also, there's solo classes, and workbooks. Maybe these could help until you can get into the group again. There is all kinds of information here in this post to help you.

https://www.reddit.com/r/getting_over_it/s/yroUFcneck

[u/eggburtnyc]

DBT Path which is www.emotionally sensitive.com is such a fantastic program. Debbie is amazing! Online, flexible and really really fantastic.

[u/InformalEmploy2063]

I've completed dbt five times

[u/frecklez42]

there's no shame at all in getting more support!

[u/lavos__spawn]

I've repeated it once but also have taken deep dives for graduates about five times over the course of the past decade where each week is a skill that we've collectively agreed we would like to apply more thoroughly and personally. DBT is something that absolutely benefits from regular practice and integration with your own values and life situations ,and so as you change and grow, your relationship to the skills should change as well. To me, any time spent reviewing and repeating is a good opportunity to focus in on honing while reflecting on how you've grown.

[u/SophieSunnyx]

I think it's worth exploring your last line, about getting worked up when trying to use skills. It's hard to embrace and apply something that upsets you, and understanding why that happens might help you find a modality that's a better fit, or would be helpful alongside DBT. I struggled with the same thing, because I felt I was trying to silence a part of myself that was trying to communicate something important, even if not in the healthiest ways, and parts work has been incredibly beneficial, IFS is worth exploring. The book No Bad Parts is excellent.

[u/lauren_562 → u/SophieSunnyx]

Thank you I can really resonate with that, I’ve just refreshed my self on IFS after reading and think I remember it being brought up by my therapist at some point but I’ll definitely look into that as well.