Sagewalk Utilizes Dialectical Behavior Therapy

A team of therapists at SageWalk, a wilderness intervention program located in Central Oregon, recently completed an intensive training in Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT).

Dialectical Behavioral Therapy is a comprehensive treatment approach that combines cognitive and behavioral therapies to teach people to express their emotions in a positive way. Instead of lashing out or avoiding difficult emotions by turning to substance abuse, eating disorders, or other destructive behaviors, DBT uses four skill sets - interpersonal effectiveness, emotional regulation, distress tolerance, and mindfulness - to improve people's coping skills.

"The training was intense," explained Sandy MacDonald, Clinical Director at SageWalk. "Groups of mental health professionals from all over the U.S., Finland, Korea, and other countries came to two one-week workshops where we practiced role-playing, gave presentations, and shared our experiences using DBT in different settings."
DBT, originally developed to treat borderline personality disorders, emphasizes skills like taking an emotional timeout, being present in the moment using all five senses, evaluating pros and cons, and thinking about logical consequences in order to treat behavioral issues. Although DBT traditionally has been used in hospital settings, detention centers, and substance abuse treatment facilities, SageWalk is one of the first programs to introduce DBT concepts into the wilderness setting.

"DBT is a great tool to help teens learn life skills in the wilderness," says Meghan Flaherty, a therapist at Sagewalk. "By taking kids out into the wilderness where they are exposed to the elements and a new set of peers, we can figure out how each teen deals with stressful situations. In the field, our staff can call out problematic behaviors and provide specific instruction on healthier ways to resolve problems right on the spot."

DBT is intended to supplement SageWalk's current methodology and core values. The program will continue to integrate cognitive-behavioral therapies, the Stages of Change by Prochaska and DiClemente, and the 12 Steps. Having a team of therapists trained in DBT simply provides one more resource to help struggling teens.

"Using DBT skills, we get teens committed to their own treatment," says Laurie Wilmot, a therapist at SageWalk. "These kids need a wake-up call to realize they have a problem, and that's what wilderness provides. When teens are thrown into a completely new environment, they are forced to think of things in a new and different way. By the time our students leave SageWalk, they have the skills they need to succeed at home or at a longer term treatment center."

At SageWalk, therapists utilize DBT skills to walk each student through a chain analysis of problem behaviors. If a teen yells at the field staff or runs away from camp, a therapist begins an immediate chain analysis by asking detailed questions about what triggered that behavior and what techniques he or she could have used to respond differently.

"In traditional talk therapy, kids sit down with a counselor one hour a week and try to understand why they have a problem. But these teens also need real-life skills that will actually solve those problems. If you dig up painful feelings without learning the skills to cope, you're more likely to use drugs or act out to numb the pain. That's where DBT comes into play," says MacDonald.

The main premise of dialectic theory is that problems happen when people see the world in polar opposites - right or wrong, happy or sad. DBT seeks to bring all extremes to a balanced center and to help parents and teens find a middle ground. Through parent workshops at SageWalk, parents learn that rather than simply saying yes or no, they can open a dialogue about the rationale behind a given rule or opinion. Using DBT, parents and teens learn to take a break when they are angry and find ways to avoid making difficult situations worse.

"DBT teaches emotionally reactive teens to step off the emotional roller coaster and find the middle path," says Trudy Godat, a therapist at SageWalk. "In our program, parents are learning the same skills as their teens, so when their child returns home, they're speaking the same language."

Since 1997, SageWalk the Wilderness School and its team of licensed clinical professionals, certified chemical dependency counselors, master's level educators, and highly trained wilderness-based instructors have been helping teens aged 13-17 address issues like depression, substance abuse, attention deficit, and anger management. SageWalk is licensed by the State of Oregon as an Outdoor Youth program and Private School, and as a Chemical Dependency Treatment program.

SageWalk is a proud member of Aspen Education Group, the nation's largest and most comprehensive network of therapeutic schools and programs. Aspen Education Group offers professionals and families the opportunity to choose from a variety of therapeutic settings in order to best meet a student's unique academic and emotional needs. Aspen Education Group has been profiled by major news and television organizations around the world, including U.S. News and World Report, The New York Times, Los Angeles Times, USA Today and People magazine, as well as on CNN, ABC's 20/20 and Good Morning America, NBC's The Today Show and Dateline NBC, National Public Radio and the syndicated television show Dr. Phil. Aspen is a division of CRC Health Group, the nation's largest chemical dependency and related behavioral health organization. For more information about Aspen Education Group, visit www.aspeneducation.com or call 888-972-7736.

For more information about SageWalk, please visit www.sagewalk.com or call 800-877-1922.