Resources for Parents

DBT is short for “Dialectic Behavioral Therapy” – which is basically a skills-based approach to helping individuals manage emotions, build healthy relationships, and cope with stress by balancing acceptance and change. Cayuga County’s DBT in Schools program brings many of the skills from this approach into your child’s classroom, where it can benefit all young people without a one-to-one therapy context. More specifically, DBT in Schools is intended to teach your child practical skills to manage emotions, tolerate stress, improve interpersonal relationships, and benefit from the practice of mindfulness.

Schools are where students spend most of their time, making them the perfect place for teaching emotional resilience and coping skills. By integrating DBT into the school environment, we ensure early intervention, reduce mental health stigma, and provide consistent, accessible support for all students. When social-emotional learning is a part of everyday education, students are better equipped to manage stress, succeed academically, and build healthy relationships. Let’s make school a place where mental wellness is just as important as academic success!

It’s possible to cultivate a healthy lifestyle for mental wellness, just as programs have been introduced to promote physical health. By incorporating mental health skills via DBT into the universal school culture, we will give all students the knowledge of how to address a variety of challenges they may face in the future. Typical goals would include aiding students in effective problem solving or how to most effectively communicate with peers and teachers.

Other goals would include helping students manage difficult emotional situations, cope with stress and make better decisions.

Obviously, a number of these outcomes would be applicable outside of school, many within the family setting.

Navigating the roller coaster of emotions for kids can be difficult but envision having the right tools to help them do so. DBT in Schools encourages students to control their emotions, and it discourages black-and-while thinking – avoiding extremes like “everything is terrible” or “I’m perfect.” This approach allows young people to deal with hard times more easily while boosting their mood.

In today’s world, young people face increasing stress, anxiety, and mental health challenges, making it essential to equip them with skills to manage emotions and build resilience. DBT helps students navigate daily challenges – from managing conflicts with their peers and handling test anxiety to effectively asking for what they need. It also provides critical skills for coping with overwhelming emotions, reducing self-harm behaviors, and managing suicidal thoughts in a supportive and constructive way.

By integrating DBT into schools, we empower students with the tools they need to handle both big and small challenges with confidence and emotional stability.

Most definitely. DBT in Schools’ skills bring mental wellness strategies to schools that will educate the whole child, not just the academic child, and allow youth to obtain their education potential today and become leaders for tomorrow.

Think of these skills comparable to a toolkit for navigating life’s ups and downs, both in school, outside of school and beyond school.

The program is being introduced by Cayuga County Mental Health but it’s a comprehensive and well-proven curriculum developed by the originators of the DBT in Schools concept, Drs. James Mazza and Elizabeth Dexter-Mazza.

Each school district who adopts the program (and it’s optional) will have a DBT specialist/onsite therapist on site a couple of days a week to teach the teachers how to adapt the skills in their classrooms. Those same therapists will also be available for kids who require more intensive DBT engagement.

No! By teaching you such DBT in School skills such as combating impulsiveness and reducing unregulated behaviors, teachers will be better able to keep hold of your attention and focus on their classroom throughout the day as they teach English, History, etc.

Absolutely not. From academic stress to the growing influence of social media, many young people struggle to navigate their emotions. True, at times, these emotions can become overwhelming. DBT in Schools simply helps them build emotional regulation, resilience and essential life skills that will not only help them cope better now, but also in the future.

Please keep in mind that for students not currently struggling academically, socially or emotionally, these DBT skills serve as preventative measures, helping ensure your child is well-educated and well-prepared to handle emotions and stressors in the future.

Know, too, that DBT in Schools is not a therapy program, but is a curriculum used to teach certain helpful skills.

In schools that have successfully implemented DBT in Schools program, results are typically measured through a combination of:

• Self-report questionnaires wherein students complete surveys to assess their own perceptions of their emotional regulation, ability to cope with stress and use of DBT skills.
• Behavioral observation scales in which teachers may use checklists to track specific behaviors related to DBT skills, such as appropriate responses to frustration, active listening during discussions or ability to self-calm.
• Teacher feedback wherein teachers can provide qualitative feedback on how students are applying DBT skills in the classroom, such as improvements in classroom behavior.

Parents can play an important role in the success of DBT for children and teens in schools. Not only can they support their child through the process but can also learn a few DBT in School’s skills themselves, modeling positive behaviors and creating a stable home environment that promotes emotional growth.

As an example, you could acknowledge your child’s emotions without judgment. For instance, rather than saying, “Don’t be sad,” you might say, “I see you’re feeling sad, and that’s okay.”

Absolutely! If you or your child have specific concerns, or you’re at a point where you think general training in DBT in Schools’ skills may not be adequate, there will be a DBT in Schools’ specialist/onsite therapist at school a couple of days each week.

Again, that is where the DBT specialist/onsite therapist can be of assistance, either with one-on-one sessions or perhaps a referral to another medical professional.

You are advised to talk to your child’s teacher as well as the DBT specialist/onsite therapist about your specific concerns and what program(s) are available.