Drs. Alec Miller & Jill Rathus describe the importance of bringing DBT into school settings in order to build resiliency and reduce problem behaviors in adolescents. Dawn Catucci, school psychologist at Ardsley high school describes her experience implementing DBT in her school setting.
Dr. Miller and his colleagues at CBC have developed two types of DBT for schools: Comprehensive DBT and Universal DBT.
(Miller, Rathus & Linehan, 2007; Rathus & Miller, 2015) Targets youth who exhibit at least some degree of emotional and behavioral dysregulation and uses all of the DBT modes of treatment. This model is more broadly considered secondary and tertiary prevention interventions and often pull students out of class for individual counseling and skills group.
*Rathus, J.H., & Miller, A.L. (2015). DBT Skills Manual for Adolescents. The Guilford Press, NY.
Dexter-Mazza, E.T., et al. (2020). DBT Services in Schools for Adolescents. In, Dialectical Behavior Therapy in Clinical Practice, 2nd Edition. Dimeff, LA, & Rizvi, S. (Eds). Guilford Press.
Miller, A.L., et al. (2020). Research of DBT in Schools. Handbook of Research on Dialectical Behavior Therapy. Bedics, J (Ed). Elsevier.
(DBT Skills Training in Schools: The Skills Training for Emotional Problem Solving for Adolescents; DBT STEPS-A, Mazza, Mazza, Miller, Rathus & Murphy, 2016) This program is intended for teachers to teach DBT skills in a classroom setting.
Some schools have opted to conduct both types of DBT offering primary, secondary, and tertiary interventions within the school with several goals in mind:
Alec Miller and his team at CBC have consulted with over 100 schools nationally that have or are currently implementing DBT.
For more information about DBT in schools and to inquire about implementing DBT into your school, visit CBC's website.
*Mazza, J.J., Dexter-Mazza, ET, Miller, AL, Rathus, JH, & Murphy, HE, (2016). DBT Skills Training in Schools: The Skills Training for Emotional Problem Solving for Adolescents (DBT STEPS-A). The Guilford Press, NY.
Dr. Miller is available for trainings, presentations, and media interviews. For more information on availability and booking, or if you have any questions please use the link below to contact Dr. Miller.