Skip to content

The Use of Metaphors and Storytelling to Teach DBT Skills

Presented By James J. Esmail, PsyD
James J. Esmail, PsyD

3 Hours | 3 CEs

This on-demand professional training program on The Use of Metaphors and Storytelling to Teach DBT Skills is presented by James J. Esmail, PsyD.

This program begins with an overview of the research on the use of metaphors and storytelling in not only psychotherapy but in a variety of fields, including business and the non-profit world. This not only educates but teaches skills and motivates persons for significant behavioral change.

Examples of metaphors and storytelling to teach DBT skills across the 4 modules are presented. Emphasis on how using metaphors and stories helps clients not only understand DBT skills but to motivates practice and implementation of the skills. This program enables participants to utilize metaphors and storytelling to teach DBT skills to a variety of populations.

Suitable for both seasoned DBT group leaders and those considering initiating a DBT group, this program is a resourceful asset. It equips attendees with tools to sculpt valuable group experiences while ensuring the practical applications and benefits of the teachings are made evident to group members. This program provides participants with the unique ability to adapt and apply metaphors and storytelling to teach DBT skills across a wide array of populations.

In her intro to her 1993 volume Cognitive Behavior Therapy for Borderline Personality Disorder, Marsha Linehan points out the need to teach Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) through metaphors and stories (p.209). Thinking in metaphors is one of the crucial building blocks that allows humans to engage in abstract reasoning. The ability to compare something that is abstract, complex, and difficult to understand to something more concrete and tangible has allowed humans to go beyond very simple cognition to understand the more complex realities of life (Landau, Robinson, and Meier, 2014). DBT skills training continues to receive empirical support (McCauley, et al. 2018; Navarro-Haro, 2019; Harned & Botanav, 2016) for both its intended population (self-harming individuals) but also broader applications (anxiety, substance abuse, enhancing social and global functioning).

Intended Audience

This on-demand professional training program is intended for mental health and other allied professionals

Experience Level

This on-demand professional training program is appropriate for beginner, intermediate, and advanced level clinicians.

CE / CPD Credit

APA, ASWB, CPA, NBCC Click here for state and other regional board approvals.

Learning Objectives

Upon completion of this program you will be able to:

Describe why the use of metaphor is crucial in teaching DBT concepts and stories to patients in skills training

Describe why storytelling is a uniquely crucial medium for teaching complex social and emotion regulation skills to humans

Describe examples of metaphors and stories that teach specific dialectical behavior therapy skills in all four modules of DBT (Mindfulness, Interpersonal Effectiveness, Emotion Regulation, and Distress Tolerance)

Identify stories from personal experiences that teach Radical Acceptance and Reality Acceptance skills

arch

Presented By

James J. Esmail, PsyD

James J Esmail, PsyD is a clinical psychologist who has been in practice since 1996. He earned the MA and PsyD degrees in clinical psychology from Spalding University in Louisville, Kentucky. Dr. Esmail is a staff psychologist at the state psychiatric hospital in Cincinnati, Ohio (Summit Behavioral ...

Curriculum

1. Introduction

2. Why Use Metaphors and Stories to Teach DBT Skills?

3. Metaphors and Stories - Mindfulness Module

4. Mindfulness: "Meet Your Six New Best Friends"

5. Interpersonal Effectiveness Metaphors and Stories

6. Emotional Regulation

7. Distress Tolerance

8. The Importance of Radical Acceptance

Develop a Specialty Area of Practice

Transforming mental health professionals into experts

Expert Instructors

Professional training developed and delivered by the field's leading experts

CE Credit

Earn CE credit for meaningful professional training that will elevate your practice

Convenience & Flexibility

Learn at your own pace, from wherever you might be!