Would you like to gain behavioral skills to help connect with and support your emotional teen?

Parenting can be especially challenging when your teen has difficulties regulating their emotions. This group provides parents with tools to help their teens accept life circumstances while developing skills to enact positive changes in their behavior and interactions with others.

Parents will learn how to address behavior through effective communication and enhanced understanding, in turn reducing power struggles and developing a more meaningful relationship with their teen.

Each week focuses on a specific DBT skill: Mindfulness, Distress Tolerance, Emotion Regulation, Interpersonal Effectiveness, and the teen-family-specific module, Walking the Middle Path.

In addition to the education, the group offers a supportive space to connect with other parents experiencing similar dynamics.

Who

Parents/guardians of 12-18 year-olds who seek tools to support their child(ren) experiencing mental health struggles and emotional dysregulation

When

Upcoming dates to be announced – Please contact Elise if you’d like to learn more or join an interest list.

Thursdays from 6:30-7:45pm

Where

This group meets VIRTUALLY via Zoom (HIPAA-compliant version)

Cost

$1,125 for 9-week group ($125/session), due in full on/before the first session

A 55-minute intake session ($175) must be scheduled prior to joining.

Registration and Inquiries

Contact the group facilitator:
Elise Brown, Licensed Professional Counselor

email: elise@sunstonecounselors.com
phone: 774-823-0053


Meet the Facilitator

Elise Brown


Elise Brown, LPC, NCC
Licensed Professional Counselor

Elise Brown, LPC, NCC
elise@sunstonecounselors.com | 774-823-0053

In January of 2022, I completed a training created by the developers of Dialectical Behavior Therapy Skills Adapted for Adolescents and Families: Drs. Marsha Linehan, Jill Rathus, and Alec Miller. I learned how to effectively teach the 5 DBT Skills including Mindfulness, Distress Tolerance, Emotion Regulation, Interpersonal Effectiveness, and the teen-family-specific module, Walking the Middle Path.

I firmly believe that DBT skills are life skills that everyone can benefit from learning. Working with teens and their parents every day, I am passionate about DBT and its ability to effect change and personal growth. Throughout my counseling career, which began in 2018, I’ve been involved in various DBT groups for adolescents and parent workshops. Most recently, I led a 16-week DBT Skills Group for Middle Schoolers and found parents to be a critical part of the equation.

In my experience, DBT is most effective when everyone at home is practicing these skills. This informed my decision to leverage my passion for DBT and to answer the call for more parenting resources in our community.


What are Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) Skills?

Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) is an evidence-based treatment that helps individuals live more in the moment, better manage intense emotions, reduce impulsive behavior, and improve their relationships.

From behavioraltech.org, problematic behaviors evolve as a way to cope with a situation or attempt to solve a problem.

The function of DBT Skills Training is to help enhance a client’s coping skills and strategies when facing everyday challenges. There are four skills taught in DBT:​

  • Mindfulness: how to be fully aware and present in the moment without judgement
  • Distress Tolerance: how to tolerate negative emotions in difficult situations, rather than escape them with problem behavior
  • Interpersonal Effectiveness: how to express needs and set boundaries with others while maintaining self-respect
  • Emotion Regulation: how to understand, manage, and change emotions that are causing distress

Walking the Middle Path is a module specific to adolescents and their families. This module focuses on resolving conflict and problem solving by balancing acceptance and change.