Support Within Team
DBT consultation teams are communities meant to provide support for each other. It is a place where team members bring their professional expertise and personal experiences to help colleagues problem solve, accept realities, and validate one another.
One participant from a study emphasizes the importance of relationships on DBT teams.
"I think the guiding principle needs to be that the relationship always comes first, and that has to be taken care of and nurtured. Because if it's not a safe place for everyone, we're not going to realize all of our potential. We need everybody. That means we can't alienate anyone." - Jessica
How Teams Can Show Support
Non-judgmental stance
Allow conversation without pathologizing or discrediting their experiences
Hold the dialectic
Actively practice "both/ and" that one can be a skilled clinician and have needed DBT
Acknowledge Value
Appreciate that therapists with lived experience as DBT clients can bring unique insights to team
Recognize Stigma
Challenge the stigma that may arise within yourself and team
Cultivating a Space for Disclosure
Dr. Lyndsi Bodtmann, co-founder and director of New Jersey Center for Cognitive and Dialectical Behavior Therapy, discusses how to cultivate a team where disclosure is valued and safe.
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Helpful Tools
Below are checklists for team leaders and team members to help ensure we are all actively participating in building cohesive teams.
Click below for the team leader checklist.
Click below for the team member checklist.
