Group Therapy for Bipolar Disorder

Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) for Individuals with Mood Disorders
**Next 14-week module begins in January 2024 and takes place via Telehealth. This group is open to anyone living in California.**

This group teaches DBT skills tailored for individuals with bipolar disorder and unipolar depression who are interested in learning skills for managing moods and emotions in a structured group environment. I conducted this group for 12 years at Stanford and now continue to offer this group in my private practice. This group is intended as a complement to individual therapy and medication treatments. Groups last 1 1/2 hours and meet for 14 consecutive weeks. Each 14-week module addresses a particular set of skills:

  • In the Distress Tolerance module, you will learn skills to better manage anxiety and distress and decrease problematic coping responses when faced with high stress situations. Some of the skills taught include mindfulness, relaxation, self-soothing, crisis survival skills, improving the moment, self-compassion, and radical acceptance.  
  • In the Emotion Regulation module, you will learn greater awareness of emotional responses, how to distinguish between emotions and moods, and how to use emotional experiences as valuable information in making decisions and communicating with others.  The group discusses the role that emotions play in interpersonal interactions and you will be coached in methods to reduce emotional vulnerability, increase positive emotions, and be non-mindful of worries.
  • In the Interpersonal Effectiveness module you will learn how to formulate and prioritize specific goals in interpersonal interactions. You will then be instructed in factors that increase your effectiveness at achieving these goals. You will learn useful methods for saying no and asking for something, including ways to express yourself assertively (vs. passively or aggressively). Participants are taught a system for negotiating their wants and presenting their poing of view to build strong relationships and self-respect. 

Mindfulness skills are repeated in each module. Participants will be taught how to increase awareness of the present moment without judgment. You will participate in weekly mindfulness exercises to learn to direct your attention in the moment, with the goal of increasing awareness of yourself and others. In relation to bipolar disorder, mindfulness skills can further aid you in becoming more aware of your mood state, your triggers, and your warning signals so you can make appropriate adjustments. Regular practice of a mindful stance also allows the observation of thoughts as just that--thoughts--and reduces their influence over mood. Further, mindfulness may allow you to tune in to positive experiences that act as a protective factor in mood disorders.

"Mindfulness is a way of learning to be in control of your own mind
instead of letting your mind be in control of you."
-Marsha Linehan

For more information about DBT for Mood Disorders, please contact me.

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