Team Meetings and Expert Consultation

Intensive and Intensive Plus pathways only

• What is a DBT consultation team?  A DBT consultation team is a group of DBT providers who work together to treat clients. A team has 5 to 10 people, and it could include a combination of providers who may have different roles, professional credentials (e.g., psychologists also working on a team with a psychiatrist), and/or work in different locations.  

• Do I need a team to do DBT? Why?  Yes, you need a team! The DBT consultation team is a required part of the treatment. In order to be faithful to the DBT model and to truly do DBT, you need to be on a consultation team.  You can refer to Marsha Linehan’s Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Borderline Personality Disorder for a description of the important functions that the team serves in this treatment. 

• Why is DBT a team-based treatment? There can be immense pressure on a DBT therapist, often created by clients’ risk of suicide or self-harm. The DBT team is there to make sure that the therapist is not pushed out of doing competent treatment by pressure from the client, from themselves, or from the demands of the program pushing them outside of their limits. 

• How often do people meet with their DBT consultation teams? A DBT consultation team meets every week. This is true regardless of whether they are participating in the DBT Comprehensive Online program or are actively practicing DBT with your patients.  

• What does a typical agenda include for a  DBT consultation team meeting? A typical meeting might start with 5-10 minutes of mindfulness practice. The team will spend a few minutes to review issues and tasks from the week before, and then the focus turns to the needs of the team members. They will behaviorally define their problem or question, then ask the team for help assessing or solving the problem. A DBT consultation team meeting might also include video review to aid the development of members’ skills.   

During consultation, you are paired with a DBT expert to discuss your clinical, team and program goals, as well as the challenges you face. Your DBT expert is a consultant who provides guidance and recommendations to you and your team. Consultation sessions follow the same basic structure as DBT treatment sessions: the DBT expert collaboratively works with you and your team to set an agenda and prioritize targets.

Next, consultation questions related to these targets are developed and clarified. You will collaborate with your DBT expert, using assessment strategies to gain a clear picture of the clinical, team, or programmatic issue(s). A dialectical approach is then used to determine and implement solutions, with both acceptance and change-based strategies used to engage all team members in active problem-solving. 

Your DBT expert will join your team meetings on average every two weeks during the consultation period of your training pathway.

After the Foundational phase, consultations continue to support your clinical practice and program development. Scheduling is flexible, allowing your team to balance these meetings alongside your clinical caseload.

Yes! Weekly team meetings are an essential component of DBT treatment and you are expected to attend these meetings during your course program, and continue meeting after the program finishes. You can refer to Marsha Linehan’s Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Borderline Personality Disorder for a description of the important functions that the team serves in DBT treatment. 

During consultation, you are paired with a DBT expert to discuss your clinical, team and program goals, as well as the challenges you face. The DBT expert is a consultant who provides guidance and recommendations to you and your team. Consultation sessions follow the same basic structure as DBT treatment sessions: the DBT expert collaboratively works with you and your team to set an agenda and prioritize targets.

Next, consultation questions related to the targets are developed and clarified. You will collaborate with your DBT expert, using assessment strategies to gain a clear picture of the clinical, team, or programmatic issue(s). A dialectical approach is then used to determine and implement solutions. Both acceptance and change-based strategies are used to engage all team members in active problem-solving.