DBT Skills Programme for Tweens
Our focus is on four key learning areas:
Mindfulness
Distress Tolerance
Emotion Regulation
Interpersonal Effectiveness
Today we are offering even more support for your child’s development. Beyond our comprehensive 12-week term-time programme, individual one-on-one sessions are also available.
Equip your young adolescent with essential abilities to foster their emotional and social growth.
WE’RE INTERESTED
“DBT Skills shows kids how to speak up for themselves and set boundaries, but in a way that doesn’t hurt their friendships.”
JONATHAN
Embracing where they are, guiding where they can be
Mindfulness
Cultivating presence and full engagement with their environment can empower pre-teens, helping to lessen anxiety and sharpen their concentration.
Distress Tolerance
Learning effective distress tolerance equips young adolescents with practical methods to navigate stressful and emotional challenges with greater resilience and composure.
Emotion Regulation
Understanding and skillfully managing emotions fosters improved mental well-being and reduces emotional distress in this age group.
Interpersonal Effectiveness
Developing strong communication and interpersonal abilities enables tweens to build healthy relationships and resolve disagreements constructively.
Why DBT Skills?
The DBT Skills for Tweens programme is designed to tackle emotional and behavioural instability in pre-adolescents. By providing effective coping strategies, the programme equips young people to manage life’s challenges and build a solid foundation for their future success.
Origins of DBT Skills
- DBT Skills comes from Dr. Marsha M. Linehan, a psychologist in America. She developed her work in the late 1980s, treatment manual was first published in 1993, helping humans ever since..
- She believed it’s important to both accept how someone feels right NOW and help them change for the better.
- Her work tries to understand and respect what someone is going through while also showing them how to make positive changes.
- The DBT Skills we teach are similar to the skills adults learn, but tailored for tweens.
Tweens will develop the skills to:
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Better understand and manage their emotions
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Navigate conflicts more effectively
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Handle anxiety and life’s ups and downs
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Improve self-awareness and focus
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Control impulsive behaviours
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Strengthen interpersonal relationships
Emotional Regulation
Pre-adolescents have intense, changing emotions which can cause impulsive actions. Manu struggle to identify their feelings.
We teach emotion recognition and naming, providing techniques to:
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- Reduce negative feelings.
- Increase positive feelings.
Self-Exploration and Concentration
The tween years are key for self-discovery (identity, interests, values, ambitions). External factors (peer pressure, social media) can hinder self-awareness. Maintaining focus and avoiding distractions is often difficult.
Our ‘core’ Mindfulness module helps tweens:
- Improve self-awareness.
- Enhance attention management.
These skills enable them to:
- Make informed life decisions.
- Stay engaged with tasks.
Managing Impulsivity
Pre-teens can be trapped in impulsive behaviour. This could be a way to avoid uncomfortable feelings.
Our Distress Tolerance module offers strategies for:
- Effectively coping with emotional distress.
- Preventing impulsive reactions escalating.
Building Social Skills
Many tweens struggle with:
- Articulating their needs.
- Setting clear boundaries.
- Forming and maintaining relationships.
- Upholding self-respect in social settings.
Our Interpersonal Effectiveness module focuses on skill sets to improve these areas.
Empowered Through Creative Expression
We equip our pre-teens for self-discovery, expanding their learning using Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT).
Our programme integrates art, movement, and play. Strengthening non-verbal communication and the healthy expression of feelings
Our activities include:
- Mandala colouring.
- Doodling in sessions.
- Painting clay mugs.
- Making music, and other creative activities.
Meet the Team
Laeni and Bridget, our dedicated facilitators
Laeni Gittens
“I designed this programme to meet the unique needs of tweens, it’s a super fun way for them to know how to solve problems, handle big emotions, and enjoy excellent communication.”
Bridget McCarthy
“After years of teaching young people, I’ve noticed what shines through. The most valuable skill is communicating. Communication is not just talking, it’s the foundation of confidence, happiness and achievement”
sign up!
WEDNESDAY
3 PM – 4 PM
SOUTHERN SUBURBS
HOLIDAYS
1 WEEK
09 AM – 13 PM
CONSTANTIA
Contact
Phone
+(000) 111 222 333
address@domain.com
Address
543 TN, doula street
NY, New York