DBT-Informed Therapy: Adolescents

About the Course

This course aims to increase knowledge and skill to apply a Dialectical Behavior Therapy-informed approach to client care when working with adolescents. This course uses a selection of learning tools such as expert discussion and explanation, role plays, and knowledge checks. After finishing this course, you should be able to describe parental involvement in DBT-informed care approach, evaluate the DBT-informed model as it pertains to adolescent client assessment, treatment agreements, and structuring individual therapy sessions, and define four skills that can be imparted to adolescent clients in building their DBT toolkits over time and in an individual format. The course also includes supplementary tools like printable resources and short videos for you and your clients.

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Course Overview

  • Estimated Course Length:  2 hrs. and 47 mins.
  • CE Credits:  2.25 continuing education/contact hours for psychologists and social workers / 2.25 continuing education hours for counselors and marriage and family therapists.
  • Course Includes: 4 modules consisting of a mixed media approach with roleplays, video interviews with subject matter experts, and knowledge checks
  • Videos:  6 videos to highlight key concepts or share with clients to enhance learning
  • Supplementary PDFs: 12 downloadable PDFs expanding on relevant course topics
  • Target Audience: Mental Healthcare Practitioners, Counselors, Marriage & Family Therapists, Psychologists, Mental Healthcare Students
  • Level of Instruction: Intermediate
  • Prerequisite: None
  • Instructional Method: Self-paced, interactive, hybrid of audio, text, video, and knowledge checks 
  • Accessibility Accommodations: Closed captioning of all audio and video components. In order to request further accessibility accommodations, please email support@psychhub.com.
  • Completion Requirements: To obtain your CE certificate, you must complete a pre-test (not scored), progress through all course segments, complete a participant evaluation, and obtain a score of 80% or higher on a post test quiz. Learners are expected to complete the quiz within 3 attempts. If unable to do so, the learner will need to re-review the course segments.
  • Financial/Commercial Support Statement: This course has no commercial support.
  • Conflict of Interest: This course has no potential conflict of interest or outside commercial support. Psych Hub's conflict of interest statement is found in the footer of the training center.
  • Grievance and Refund Policies: Grievance and refund policies are found in the footer of the training center.
  • Participation Costs: The cost to participate in this CE activity is included in the subscription registration fee.
  • Course Creation Date: 4/28/2022

Learning Objectives

Course Objectives

What the learner should be able to describe and employ upon course completion:

  1. Describe parental involvement in DBT-informed care approach for adolescents.

  2. Evaluate the DBT-informed model as it pertains to adolescent client assessment, treatment agreements, and structuring individual therapy sessions.

  3. Define four skills that can be imparted to adolescent clients in building their DBT toolkits over time and in an individual format. The definition should include an explanation of why, when, and how to use skills in the four DBT modules of mindfulness, distress tolerance, emotion regulation, and interpersonal effectiveness.


Course Outline

TIMED COURSE OUTLINE

Since the course is interactive and each learner will proceed at their own pace, timing is not exact. These are approximations based on average pre/post-test time of pilot testers as well as the run-time of course videos. This course does not have to be completed in one session. 

COURSE ACTIVITIES FOR CE CREDIT (≥ 2 HOURS 07 MINUTES)

PRE-COURSE ASSESSMENT (~5 minutes) [EXCLUDED FROM ACTIVITIES FOR NBCC & CAMFT CREDIT]

INTRODUCTION: (~1 minute)

MODULE 1: INTRODUCTION AND CONTEXT OF DIALECTICAL BEHAVIOR THERAPY FOR ADOLESCENTS (~15 minutes)

The basics of the Dialectical Behavior Therapy model, the DBT-informed approach, and unique considerations when using this approach with adolescents.

MODULE 2: PRE-TREATMENT: CLIENT ASSESSMENT AND ORIENTATION (~33 minutes)

How to assess and orient an adolescent client and their parent or guardian to DBT-informed care, including setting expectations and treatment contracts. 

MODULE 3: INDIVIDUAL CLIENT SESSIONS (~18 minutes)

Structuring individual adolescent client sessions using diary cards, behavior chain analysis, solution analysis, reinforcement, and how to mitigate common barriers and challenges.

MODULE 4: SKILLS TRAINING (~1 hour)

Overview and demonstration of skills that adolescent clients can learn and add to their DBT toolkits, including why, when, and how to use skills in the four DBT modules of mindfulness, distress tolerance, emotion regulation, and interpersonal effectiveness.

POST-COURSE ASSESSMENT: (~11 minutes) [EXCLUDED FROM ACTIVITIES FOR NBCC & CAMFT CREDIT]

 

COURSE ACTIVITIES NOT FOR CE CREDIT

PARTICIPANT EVALUATION (~10 minutes)

(OPTIONAL) Supplementary Videos for Learner 


CE Information


American Psychological Association (APA)
Psych Hub is approved by the American Psychological Association to sponsor continuing education for psychologists. Psych Hub maintains responsibility for this program and its content. Psychologists completing this course receive 2.25 continuing education credits.

National Board for Certified Counselors (NBCC)
Psych Hub has been approved by NBCC as an Approved Continuing Education Provider, ACEP No. 7051. Programs that do not qualify for NBCC credit are clearly identified. Psych Hub is solely responsible for all aspects of the programs. Counselors completing this course receive 2.25 continuing education hours.

California Association of Marriage and Family Therapists (CAMFT)
Psych Hub is approved by the California Association of Marriage and Family Therapists to sponsor continuing education for LMFTs, LCSWs, LPCCs, and LEPs. Psych Hub maintains responsibility for this program/course and its content. CAMFT Approval #1000074. Course meets the qualifications for 2.25 hours of continuing education credit for LMFTs, LCSWs, LPCCs, and/or LEPs as required by the California Board of Behavioral Sciences.

Association of Social Work Boards (ASWB)
Psych Hub, #1750, is approved as an ACE provider to offer social work continuing education by the Association of Social Work Boards (ASWB) Approved Continuing Education (ACE) program. Regulatory boards are the final authority on courses accepted for continuing education credit. ACE provider approval period: 08/20/2024 – 08/20/2027. Social workers completing this course receive 2.25 clinical continuing education credits.

New York State Education Department's State Board for Social Work (NYSED-SW)
Psych Hub, LLC is recognized by the New York State Education Department's State Board for Social Work as an approved provider of continuing education for licensed social workers #SW-0699. New York State social workers completing this course receive 2.25 contact hours.

National Association of Social Workers - New Jersey (NASW-NJ)
This course is approved by the New Jersey Social Work Continuing Education Approval Collaborative, which is administered by NASW-NJ. CE Approval Collaborative Approval period through August 31, 2026. New Jersey social workers will receive 2.25 CE credits for participating in this course.
Approval #: 10252024-274 CE Credits Approved: Clinical

New York State Education Department - Licensed Mental Health Counselors (NYSED-LMHC)
Psych Hub, LLC is recognized by the New York State Education Department's State Board for Mental Health Practitioners as an approved provider of continuing education for licensed mental health counselors. #MHC-0257. New York State licensed mental health counselors completing this course receive 2.25 contact hours.

New York State Education Department - Marriage & Family Therapists (NYSED-MFT)
Psych Hub, LLC is recognized by the New York State Education Department's State Board for Mental Health Practitioners as an approved provider of continuing education for licensed marriage and family therapists #MFT-0109. New York State marriage and family therapists completing this course receive 2.25 contact hours.

New York State Education Department - Psychology (NYSED-PSY)
Psych Hub, LLC is recognized by the New York State Education Department's State Board for Psychology as an approved provider of continuing education for licensed psychologists #PSY-0208. New York State licensed psychologists completing this course receive 2.25 contact hours.

Experts


Jamie Vela, PhD, MSc
Jamie Vela PhD., MSc. is a Clinical Psychologist and Assistant Professor in Psychiatry at Columbia University Irving Medical Center. Dr. Vela has received training in several evidence-based treatments including Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy (CBT) and Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT). She has extensive clinical training in the treatment of children, adolescents and adults with anxiety and mood disorders as well as suicidal and non-suicidal self-injurious behaviors.

Marjorie Morrison, LMFT, LPCC
Marjorie Morrison, LMFT, LPCC, is the co-founder of Psych Hub, the world's largest mental health education platform. A visionary and passionate pioneer in the mental health space, Morrison co-founded Psych Hub with Patrick J. Kennedy to connect people with best-in-class online education for mental health practitioners, allies, and consumers to learn more about some of our Nation’s most vexing mental health challenges. In her current role, Morrison is reimagining behavioral health through intentional and thoughtful design. By leveraging the digital space and combining clinical research with the art of storytelling, her mission is to provide engaging, evidence-based content on mental health that is easily accessible to everyone. Prior to launching Psych Hub, Morrison was the founder and CEO of PsychArmor Institute, a 501(c)3 non-profit organization, committed to bridging the military-civilian divide by developing, promoting, and distributing free online courses covering a wide range of topics important to those who serve military service members and their families. Under Morrison’s leadership, PsychArmor flourished and is now widely recognized as the trusted and leading expert for “Best-in-Class” resources regarding the understanding of and solutions to complex and unique military veteran issues. Marjorie’s focus on supporting members of the military and their communities was first developed in the field after she spent years writing and implementing a revolutionary proactive counseling program for the U.S. Marines. This implementation research was utilized to create a groundbreaking solution to approach military mental health care. Morrison is a CA Licensed Marriage Family Therapist, a CA Licensed Professional Clinical Counselor, a PPS-credentialed School Psychologist, and the author of The Inside Battle: Our Military Mental Health Crisis. As a renowned subject matter expert, she has been featured numerous times by national media giants such as BBC, NBC, FOX, CBS, CNN, and NPR, along with being a contributing writer for multiple outlets including TIME, Newsweek, The Daily Beast, and Huffington Post. Morrison has received numerous awards for her advocacy and leadership.

Monika Roots, MD, FAPA
Dr. Roots is a practicing child/adolescent/adult psychiatrist and nationally recognized expert in mental health. At Psych Hub, she led the clinical team in reimagining how evidence-based education can be brought to all who need it when they need it to help themselves and others. Dr. Roots also serves as the President and Chief Medical Officer of Bend Health, a virtual care solution for kid and teen mental health, which offers fast access to a child/adolescent psychiatrist. A former executive with Teladoc Health and Sanvello, she’s worked across multiple specialties and levels of care including managing anxiety, depression, eating disorders, substance use, attentional issues, and autism in child/adolescent and adults. She’s also an Adjunct Assistant Professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Paul Deger, MA, LPC, PT
Paul has learned from his over 35 years of experience in health care that, with patient and compassionate support, we are far more capable of responding to challenges and growth than we tend to believe. We can all access a deep well of peace, wisdom and courage within. Paul began his health career as a Physical Therapist, specializing in neurological rehabilitation. Paul then shifted focus from physical to psychological health, specializing in mindfulness-based interventions. Recognizing the importance of a holistic approach, Paul also did graduate studies in pastoral care. He has worked as a Licensed Professional Counselor in hospital-based, private practice and home-based settings. Paul has taught mindfulness meditation, stress management and health behavior change nationally as well as an invited speaker at professional conferences. Paul is known for creating and delivering insightful and engaging mental well-being learning experiences with NPS scores over 90 and mental well-being products that drive measurable improvements in mental well-being. He is committed to the integration of clinical and creative design towards making engageable and effective education that moves us out of stigma and into mental wellbeing as an attainable right for all! When not working, Paul enjoys rock climbing and vintage car shows with his son.