SAGE Foundations: Young Adult Individual Therapy + DBT Skills Group
SAGE Foundations gives young adults a place to check in, get support, reflect on their goals, and stick to their intentions while acquiring skills toward change.
What is SAGE I DBT Foundations?
SAGE Foundations is an intensive DBT program that helps young adults ages 18-30 stabilize their schedules, regulate their emotions, and develop skillful behaviors to navigate the challenges of emerging adulthood. The program is designed for individuals with anxiety and mood disorders who are experiencing difficulties engaging in their lives as expected during the developmental transition toward greater independence. Foundations participants may be struggling with intense emotions, executive functioning difficulties, or ineffective or problematic coping strategies.
The program includes participation in a six-week DBT skills group three mornings per week and individual therapy with a DBT therapist at least once per week. In skills group, participants learn a core foundation of DBT skills across mindfulness, distress tolerance, emotion regulation, and interpersonal effectiveness in order to “cut the cord” between their moods and their behaviors and gain more control over their lives. They benefit from developing a daily mindfulness routine to increase awareness, emotional understanding, intentionality, and self-management, and practice the DBT skills they learn each day. Finally, SAGE Foundations gives young adults a place to check in and get support from a community of peers.
Skills group meets Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays from 10am to 12:30 pm, with in-person and virtual participation options available. New members may join each Tuesday. Individual sessions with a CBC therapist or approved DBT therapist outside CBC must be scheduled weekly during the program. After hours skills phone-coaching will be provided by the individual therapist.
Ongoing Treatment
SAGE Foundations is one branch of the larger SAGE program. Intensive programs typically do not offer a gradual transition back to a typical outpatient therapy schedule, which can be problematic for clients who are still in need of increased structure. In order to help young adults maintain their progress after the intensive six weeks of treatment they receive in Foundations, we encourage them to transition to the second branch of the SAGE program: SAGE Progressions. The Progressions program focuses on retention and application of skills, facing anxiety and overcoming avoidance, and developing self-management and executive functioning skills. Progressions is ten weeks long, and consists of three weekly groups. Young adults can sign up for any combination of the three groups based on their treatment goals.
Parent Support
Parents of SAGE community members meet their own community in our Parents of Young Adults group, where parents learn a DBT-based parenting curriculum and support one another. Young adults have expressed relief that their parents are willing to learn skills to improve communication style, or to manage distress. When emotion regulation skills are a joint family endeavor, the transactions between young adults and parents become less strained. We have noticed that young adults seem to feel more supported and to retain skills better when parents are involved.
SAGE FOUNDATIONS FAQs:
Who can benefit from this group?
SAGE programs are designed for people who are between the ages of 18 and 30, generally high school graduates, who have a primary diagnosis of mood or anxiety disorder. SAGE Foundations program participants may experience suicidal ideation and/or engage in self-injurious behaviors, but have no intent to commit suicide and are willing to seek assistance during times of stress.
When does the group meet?
The SAGE Foundations meets three days per week Tuesdays through Thursdays from 10 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.
Where does the group meet?
While SAGE Foundations group meets physically in our White Plains office, all groups are equipped for hybrid in-person and virtual participation. Clients may participate in groups fully remotely if clinically appropriate, or may participate some days in-person and some days via telehealth. Individual SAGE therapists are located in the White Plains and New York City offices for weekly individual appointments. The White Plains offices is accessible via Metro North for clients living in NYC and the greater Westchester area.
When can new members join?
New members can join each Tuesday.
Do you need to be in individual therapy while attending this group?
Yes, and the individual therapist must provide adherent DBT therapy, including 24-hour phone coaching. CBC may provide you with an individual therapist or refer you to individual therapists who provide adherent, 24-hour DBT in the community. If you have a DBT therapist, we can speak with them to see if they are able to provide the individual treatment that you would need to benefit from SAGE Foundations.
Does SAGE include psychopharmacological treatment?
CBC does not provide psychiatric care. SAGE patients will need to seek psychopharmacological and medical support independently.
How long is the commitment?
The SAGE Foundations group meets three days per week for six weeks.
What is the process for joining?
Call CBC’s intake line at 914 385 1150 x1 or 212 595 9559 x 1 to schedule a 90-minute intake. The intake consists of 60 minutes of assessment with the young adult patient, and 30 minutes of orientation to the program for young adults and their parents.
How will parents be involved?
Consent to speak with parents is a stipulation for young adults to be involved in SAGE Foundations. We will contact parents if a young adult is not attending sessions repeatedly, or if we have concerns about their safety. Parents join in the intake and consultation appointment for SAGE, can participate in their own skills group and are often included in at least one family session.
What can I hope to achieve after I finish this program?
Six weeks in SAGE Foundations will provide you with a large array of coping skills for emotion regulation problems. Foundations helps young adults stabilize and lay the groundwork for change. In our experience, learning skills is necessary but not sufficient for improving your mental health. You need to continue to learn how to practice and apply the skills, and so it is helpful to continue working with an individual DBT therapist and/or participate in an aftercare program through SAGE Progressions, in order to integrate all of your new skills into your daily life.
What are the options for aftercare?
SAGE is a flexible program that can be adapted to your needs, and includes a number of options for aftercare. You and your individual DBT therapist will work together to decide on an appropriate aftercare program. Some patients may graduate treatment following completion of SAGE Foundations. Some patients may be referred to a standard once-weekly DBT skills group to strengthen their knowledge of skills. Many clients continue into the SAGE Progressions program to apply skills in more advanced and individualized contexts. SAGE Progressions consists of three weekly groups that each target specific domains of functioning where young adults can get stuck. For patients who need continued structure, community, and emotion regulation coaching and want to develop advanced DBT skills, the SAGE Progressions DBT group is an option. Others may need to confront avoidant behaviors and would benefit from the SAGE Progressions CBT. group Some may benefit from developing and strengthening their executive functioning and join our SAGE Progressions EF group. SAGE Progressions groups can be combined simultaneously to create a three day per week experience that lasts ten weeks after graduation from SAGE Foundations, which will address avoidance while supporting emotional stability and self-management skills simultaneously.
Please visit our SAGE program pages for more detail on our specific programs:
Please visit our SAGE program pages for more detail on our specific programs: