At ACCFS and in Chicago, DBT was only part of the counseling.  Now that I’ve gone through all the DBT skills, I plan to lay out other lessons we learned.  The first set will be more personal in nature because we can only change ourselves; then I’ll move on to lessons having to do with relationships and interacting with others.

One document we talked through is called The 10 Fundamental Components of Recovery adapted from (2006) Consensus Statement Defines Mental Health Recovery. Retrieved from www.samhsa.gov/SAMHSA_News/BolumeWIV_2/article.htm. I’m paraphrasing here…

1. Self-Direction – the individual defines his/her own goals and designs a unique path towards those goals.
2. Individualize and Person-Centered – the pathway to recovery is based on the individual’s unique strengths and resiliencies, needs, past experiences, etc.
3. Empowerment – each one has the authority to choose the pathway to recovery and speak to their own needs, wants, desires, and aspirations.
4. Holistic – recovery encompasses the whole person, including mind, body, spirit, and community and embraces all aspects of life, including housing, employment, education, health, spirituality, addiction treatment, and social networks.
5. Non-Linear – recovery is not step by step, but based on continual growth, occasional setbacks, and learning from experience; it begins with recognition that positive change is possible.
6. Strengths-Based – recovery focuses on building on capacities, resiliencies, talent, coping abilities, and inherent worth of individuals which allows one to leave the unhealthy roles and engage in new roles such as partner, friend, student, employee, etc.
7. Peer Support – Through mutual support of sharing experiential knowledge and skills back and forth, recovery is strengthened with a sense of belonging, value, and community.
8. Respect – Both regaining self-respect and being accepted and appreciated by others are crucial in achieving recovery as it ensures inclusion and full participation in all aspects of life.
9. Responsibility – Each one has personal responsibility for their own self-care and journey toward recovery; Though it may take great courage, people must strive to give meaning to their experiences and identify coping strategies to promote their own wellness.
10. Hope – Peers, family, friends, and providers can foster hope which is the catalyst of the recovery process and provides the motivating message of a positive future.

After talking through these components, we were asked to write a recipe for recovery, what we think the steps are, what we need, how long it will take, etc.  Here are a few things that I’d written in response…

• Recovery starts with someone willing to admit there’s a problem.
• They know they have a problem, and they want to be part of the solution.
• They are involved in the planning and the level of strenuousness.
• They are responsible to participate and take advantage of opportunities available.
• Their strengths are considered, such that recovery, though building from a low spot, also takes advantage of what their strengths have to offer the world around them.
• The whole person is served such that as the mind or body heals the other is not neglected, causing different problems.
• Recovery can’t be achieved in isolation. Peer support and respect of others gives empowerment and hope. Seeing the spectrum of recovery timing for others gives hope; it’s a way to measure progress.
• The non-linear way the brain, especially the emotional mind, works allows for fits and starts. Set backs must be expected because we are human, but with the determination of the individual and support of others, there is hope.

Check out the new quotes I’ve posted!

Wow, it’s been a long time since I posted!  It seems like life just keeps getting in the way of sitting down to write.

Well, we’re ready to wrap up the
DBT topics – well the ones that are
part of the official curriculum by
Marsha Linehan.  There are related
topics that I’ll write about next.

Here is an overview of Linehan’s skills…

One way to keep track of how well you’re using these skills is through a DBT diary card.  It has the skills listed out and space to mark for each day whether you used them or not.  There are many versions of this diary card, so this is just one example.  Sometimes we would just note which we used.  Other times we’d use  1-10 scale for how high our emotion was or how well we used the skills.

I’ll post a printable sheet under Lists for those that are interested in using it.

One last thought to leave you for today…