What is DBT ACES?

By: Nicole Lancaster, RP

DBT ACES (Accepting the Challenges of Employment and Self-sufficiency) is a group for individuals who have completed a full round of a DBT skills group, or are in the process of doing so, and are looking for more support working towards setting up a life worth living. We do this by using an expansion on the DBT skills to support individuals in the following areas:

  • Work/employment:
    • Why: Fulfilling employment can help provide routine, structure, accountability, social connection, a sense of mastery, financial independence, and more.
    • How we do this: creating a career plan & focusing on completing job and/or school/training applications. We address how to be successful at managing a job within one’s limitations through modules on perfectionism, emotion regulation, interpersonal skills, and more. If you are currently in school or a working a job, we would focus on the skills needed to be successful in those environments, or create a plan to make changes where needed.
  • Community & relationships:
    • Why: the quality of our relationships greatly impacts the quality of our lives!
    • How we do this: observing the difference between our current community and our ideal community. Using problem solving, emotional regulation skills, and interpersonal skills, we practice taking steps to get us closer to your ideal community and improving quality of relationships you want to keep. 
  • Emotional Proficiency:
    • Why: balancing all of the different areas of life is hard and emotions will come up! We want to bolster your DBT skills so that you can experience difficult emotions without them taking you out of your life.
    • How: expanding on DBT skills of mindfulness, and emotion regulation with a focus on anxiety.
  • Time Management:
    • Why: time management is an important skill if you’re managing work/school, relationships, and life in general. We work towards finding balance in your life so that you can thrive without burning out.
    • How: time tracking, time mapping, discussing time management strategies, boundaries, and more.

DBT ACES groups are run much like a business meeting, with collaboration from every member. We want to hear how people worked through their action steps and assignment for the week, and brainstorm how they can move closer to their ambitions and values. The group meets for 75 minutes weekly and the format is as follows: 

  1. Good news check-in
  2. Reading of ambition statements
  3. Weekly action steps check in & brainstorm
  4. Assignment review
  5. Teaching of new material

TLDR: DBT ACES is a group that uses DBT skills to support individuals looking to implement their life worth living goals & personal values by addressing areas of work/education, community/relationships, self-management (budgeting, time management, etc.), emotional proficiency, and more.

If you are interested in joining this group, speak to our admin team or your individual therapist for more information.