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Strengthening Your Practice of DBT

Live, Remote, Instructor-led
December 11-12, 2023

Trainers: Gwen Abney-Cunningham, LMSW, and Amy Wagner, PhD

Training Description

Purpose: This training is intended to enhance specific therapist skills initially developed in comprehensive training in DBT.
Content: This training focuses on enhancing skills in DBT case formulation, problem solving, and treatment fidelity.
Length & Schedule: This training consists of 8 training modules for a total of 12 instructor-led hours delivered over 2 days of training.
For Whom: Therapists who have completed the equivalent of either DBT Foundational Training or DBT Intensive Training, be currently engaged in the provision of DBT services, and want to strengthen their practice of DBT.

Many persons who complete comprehensive training in DBT (Foundational and Intensive Trainings) often experience great enthusiasm for DBT and a sense of learning very important information about treating persons with complex problems. They also often report feeling overwhelmed by the amount of information and stymied in their attempts to apply what is learned. Many veterans of comprehensive DBT training find that facility with application of the treatment develops overtime. This course is designed as a “next steps” training, specifically for persons who are interested in strengthening the skills they acquired in their comprehensive DBT training and subsequent clinical work to become more proficient in applying the treatment.

Topics:

    1. Getting from Goals to Targets and From Targets to Solution
    2. Assessing Controlling Variables
    3. Solution Analysis: Cognitive Modification
    4. Solution Analysis: Contingency Management
    5. Conceptualizing Dialectical Dilemmas in the treatment of borderline personality disorder
    6. Considerations Related to Racism and Culture in DBT Skills Training
    7. Measuring Outcomes in Clinical Practice
    8. Effectively addressing secondary targets in DBT

 

As is the case with all BTECH trainings, each day will begin with mindfulness and a review of the previous day, and each day will end with daily summaries. Learning will occur via didactic information, treatment demonstrations, and group practice. Participants are expected to have completed comprehensive DBT training, be currently engaged in the provision of DBT services, and want to strengthen their practice of DBT. As such, the training builds on an expectation that participants are well-versed in the content of standard DBT. Specifically, participants should complete Dialectical Behavior Therapy Foundational Training or Dialectical Behavior Therapy Intensive Training before participating in this training.

Learning Objectives:

      1. Define measurable goals for patients who have difficulty with identification of their goals.
      2. Link targets to goals.
      3. Identify problem behaviors that must be eliminated or decreased in order for patients to attain goals.
      4. Identify behaviors that are needed for patients to attain goals.
      5. Identify the most pertinent behavior for analysis at specific points in treatment.
      6. Obtain a behavioral definition of the identified problem behavior.
      7. Identify the most pertinent controlling variables in a chain.
      8. Determine the most critical points of intervention in a chain analysis.
      9. Implement cognitive modification procedures as utilized in DBT.
      10. Identify potential obstacles with the use of cognitive modification in DBT.
      11. Manage contingencies in the lives of patients that increase the likelihood of them obtaining their goals.
      12. Describe how the behavior of the therapist is used to manage contingencies in sessions.
      13. Describe potential obstacles associated with contingency management in and outside of sessions.
      14. Evaluate the use of contingency procedures in my own and others’ cases.
      15. Explain the distinction between dialectical dilemmas and secondary targets.
      16. Develop hypotheses about patients’ experiences and problems, based on dialectical dilemmas experienced by person with BPD.
      17. Describe the rationale for cultural humility in skills training.
      18. Ask assessment questions about the impact of a client’s culture on their experience learning and using DBT skills.
      19. Give specific examples of the impact of racism on skill selection and application.
      20. Give examples of using DBT skills to address race-based discrimination.
      21. List three central purposes of outcome data.
      22. Identify major barriers and solutions to collecting outcome data.
      23. Explore and identify the right level of data for your organizational and clinical
      24. Identify an array of specific methods and instruments used to collect outcome
      25. Create a plan for long-term outcome measurement in your practice or organization.
      26. Define the relationship between secondary targets and primary targets.
      27. Determine when to focus on secondary targets.
      28. Identify options for intervening in secondary targets.

Schedule

December 11-12, 2023

7:00am – 2:30pm Pacific Time / 9:00am-4:30pm Central Time / 10:00am-5:30pm Eastern Time

Sign-In from 6:30am – 7:00am Pacific Time / 8:30am-9:00am Central Time / 9:30am-10:00am Eastern Time

Trainers

Gwen Abney-Cunningham, LMSW

Kalamazoo, MI (United States) Gwen Abney-Cunningham, LMSW, is currently a fulltime Behavioral Tech consultant and trainer. Prior to coming to Behavioral Tech full time, she was employed at a community mental health agency for 32 years, in many roles, including; DBT Services Supervisor, Outpatient Services Director, and most recently as Evidenced Based Treatment Director. Gwen received her bachelor’s degree from Hope College and her MSW from Grand Valley State University. She has 30 plus years of professional experience and is a member of one of the first teams in the U.S. to apply DBT within an ACT program.  Gwen is intensively trained in DBT and an experienced workshop leader at state, national, and international conferences. Gwen continues to work as a DBT therapist because it is effective and the hope it brings to clients and their families. As a BTECH Trainer and consultant, she is also able to assist many mental health providers in learning the treatment to assist in helping many individuals. Gwen’s experience in DBT includes individual and skills training for adults, adolescents and families and providing DBT supervision to clinicians. In addition, she has assisted in the development and implementation of DBT on ACT teams and in outpatient settings. Gwen has been involved with the large-scale implementations of DBT in Michigan for Community Mental Health settings. She has been a Behavioral Tech trainer for 20 plus years. Gwen has also served on the Behavioral Tech Trainer Advisory Committee and the Behavioral Tech Implementation Science Workgroup.

Amy Wagner, PhD

Portland, OR (United States) Amy W. Wagner, Ph.D., is a licensed clinical psychologist in Washington state and Oregon, and an Associate Professor in the Department of Psychiatry at Oregon Health & Science University. She has over 25 years of experience as a therapist, supervisor/teacher and researcher, with expertise in Dialectical Behavior Therapy, evidence-based treatments for PTSD including Cognitive Processing Therapy and Prolonged Exposure, and cognitive-behavior therapy in general.  She has supervised graduate students, post-doctoral fellows, and established professionals throughout her career and has taught numerous professional workshops (primarily related to DBT), nationally and internationally. Her research has focused on treatment development and evaluation, most recently evaluating an adaptation of behavioral activation therapy for PTSD, and she has numerous research publications.  

Prerequisites

Participants are expected to have completed comprehensive DBT training, be currently engaged in the provision of DBT services, and want to strengthen their practice of DBT. As such, the training builds on an expectation that participants are well-versed in the content of standard DBT. Specifically, participants should complete Dialectical Behavior Therapy Foundational Training or Dialectical Behavior Therapy Intensive Training before participating in this training.

Study Resources

This training builds on DBT Foundational/Intensive training. It is assumed that participants have completed the required readings for those courses. In addition, it is recommended that participants are familiar with the readings below.

NOTE: Additional readings may be added to this list as we finalize the training materials.

  • Rizvi, S. L. (2019). Chain Analysis in Dialectical Behavior Therapy. Guilford Publications.
  • Heard, H. L., & Swales, M. A. (2015). Changing Behavior in DBT?: Problem Solving in Action. Guilford Publications.

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Tuition Information

  • Standard Tuition: $649 per participant (U.S. dollars)
  • Registration will close when all seats are sold, or on November 27, 2023 (final cut-off date).

IMPORTANT: Two weeks prior to the training, participants will receive an email from our Online Portal (powered by Thinkific) with a sign-in URL for this training. Please follow the instructions in the email to log in to our Online Portal and set your password, prior to Day 1 of the training.

Participants will retain access to the online course until 1 month after the last training session date. All course requirements must be completed before course access expires.

Please email support@behavioraltech.org if you have any questions about accessing your training.

Cancellations, Substitutions and Refunds
For a complete list of Behavioral Tech policies and limits of liability, see our Sales & Refund Policy page.

Technical Requirements

  • Our Online Portal (powered by Thinkific) will be used to host the live Zoom sessions and share supplemental materials. All Live-Remote Trainings require each participant to have:

Continuing Education

This offering meets the requirements for the following hours by discipline. Licensing and continuing education requirements vary by state. Please contact your state’s regulatory authority to verify if this course meets your licensing or continuing education requirements. Inquiries regarding CE for other disciplines not listed may be directed to Behavioral Tech at (206) 675-8589 or via email to support@behavioraltech.org. And for general CE questions, you can review answers to continuing education FAQs or contact us.

CE NOTE: Behavioral Tech calculates the continuing education credits for this training by the start time and end time. 100 percent attendance is required, as is signing IN and OUT each morning and afternoon, to receive CE credits. Only participants with 100% attendance, and who have completed the Post-Event Evaluation and passed their Final Exam with a score of 75% or higher will receive credit. Behavioral Tech cannot offer partial credit. Please remember to sign in and sign out each day to document your attendance. Continuing Education documentation will be emailed to you 4-6 weeks after the last day of training.

Mental Health Counselors
Behavioral Tech is approved by an NBCC-Approved Continuing Education Provider (ACEP™) and may offer NBCC-approved clock hours for events that meet NBCC requirements. The ACEP solely is responsible for all aspects of the program.
Behavioral Tech will email you a letter documenting your attendance upon the successful completion of the activity. The allocated clock hours for this activity = 12.

Nurses
Behavioral Tech is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education to provide continuing medical education for physicians. Nurses should only claim credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity. Continuing Medical Education is accepted by the ANCC for nursing certification renewal. The maximum AMA PRA Category 1 Credits™ designated by Behavioral Tech for this activity = 12.

Psychiatrists
Behavioral Tech is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education to provide continuing medical education for physicians. Physicians should only claim credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity. The maximum AMA PRA Category 1 Credits™ designated by Behavioral Tech for this activity = 12.

Psychologists
Behavioral Tech is approved by the American Psychological Association to offer continuing education for psychologists. Behavioral Tech maintains responsibility for the program and its content. Behavioral Tech will email you a letter documenting your attendance after the successful completion of the program and homework. The number of hours Behavioral Tech has allocated within APA guidelines = 12.

Psychologists – New York
Behavioral Tech 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-0063. Behavioral Tech will email a certificate of attendance upon 100% completion of this activity. The total contact hour allocated for this activity = 12.

Social Workers- Washington
Behavioral Tech will apply to the NASW, Washington State Chapter, Provider Number 1975-166, to offer continuing education for Certified Social Workers. Behavioral Tech will email a certificate of attendance upon 100% completion of this activity. The hours of CE allocated for this activity = 12.

Social Workers – New York
Behavioral Tech is approved by 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, #0040. Behavioral Tech will email a letter documenting attendance to participants with 100% completion of the program and homework. The hours allocated for this activity = 12.

General CE/CME Disclosures and Policies

Conflict of interest definition: A conflict of interest may be considered to exist if a continuing education course faculty is affiliated with, or has any significant financial interest, in any organization(s) that may have a direct interest in the subject matter of the presentation or may be co-sponsoring or offering financial support to the course. Situations involving a potential conflict of interest are not inherently bad or wrong, but in accordance with standards for continuing medical education we would like you to be aware of the affiliation/financial interest of your instructors.

Faculty Disclaimer: When an unlabelled use of a commercial product, or an investigative use not yet approved for any purpose is discussed during an educational activity, we shall require the speaker to disclose that the product is not labeled for the use under discussion or that the product is still investigative.

Notice of requirements for successful completion: For all trainings (both in-person and remote), participants must attend 100% of the training and complete the Final Evaluation to receive a certificate of successful completion. This includes signing in and out each day/session of the event. For remote, Instructor-led online training, participants have to pass the Post Assessment(s) with a score of 75% or higher.

Commercial support or sponsorship: There is no commercial company support for this CME/CE event.

Noncommercial Sponsor Support: There is no noncommercial sponsor support for this CME/CE activity.

Non-Endorsement of Products: The Behavioral Tech approval status refers only to continuing education activities and does not imply that there is real or implied endorsement of any product, service, or company referred to in this activity nor of any company subsidizing costs related to the activity.

Off-Label Product Use: This CME/CE activity does not include any unannounced information about off-label use of a product for a purpose other than that for which it was approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

Disclosure of Relevant Financial Relationships: Faculty members are required to disclose all conflicts of interest and any relevant financial relationships that may affect the training content. Unless specified on Behavioral Tech’s website or on other printed materials/media, none of the individuals in a position to control the content of this CE/CME activity (including planners, editors, CE/CME Review Committee members, faculty presenters, moderators/facilitators, reviewers, etc.) have any relevant financial relationships to disclose.

CE Reprint Policy: For missing/lost CE documentation, an administrative fee of $50 is required for all CE/CME activities after 2017. For CE reprints prior to 2017, please refer to the website or contact support@behavioraltech.org. Please refer to the CE FAQ webpage: https://behavioraltech.org/resources/faqs/continuing-education/.

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