SAGE I DBT Foundations: Young Adult Individual therapy + Skills Training
SAGE I DBT gives young adults a place to check in, get support, reflect on their goals and stick to their intentions.
What is SAGE I DBT Foundations?
SAGE I DBT is a program that helps young adults stabilize their schedule and learn emotion regulation, as well as self-management skills. Participants must commit to the full six weeks of skills training. SAGE I DBT gives young adults a place to check in, get support, reflect on their goals and stick to their intentions. SAGE I DBT young adults benefit from developing a daily mindfulness routine and working on their executive function skills in order to set goals for themselves, prioritize and reduce procrastination. Finally, SAGE I DBT young adults learn to “cut the cord” between their moods and their behaviors using DBT skills.
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 our SAGE I DBT Foundations, we encourage them to transition to SAGE II DBT/EF Skills Strengthening and Generalization, where the focus is on retention and application of skills, and/or to SAGE II CBT, where the focus is on facing anxiety and overcoming avoidance. Both SAGE II programs meet for eight- week cycles. Young adults can sign up for one eight-week cycle, two afternoons per week, and then they can stay in SAGE II programs for a second round of eight weeks, one afternoon per week, if needed.
Young adults between the ages of 18 and 30 will meet for six weeks, four mornings per week, Monday through Thursday, from 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. New members may join each Monday. Individual sessions with a CBC therapist or approved DBT therapist outside CBC must be scheduled weekly during the program. After hours skills coaching will be provided by the individual therapist.
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 countless times. 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 I DBT 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 1 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 I DBT group meets Mondays through Thursdays from 10 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.
When can new members join?
New members can join each Monday.
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 I DBT.
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 I DBT group meets four days a 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 I DBT 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 orientation 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 the SAGE program will provide you with a large array of coping skills for both self-management/executive functioning problems and emotion regulation problems.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. It is helpful to continue in an aftercare program, and with an individual DBT therapist, in order to integrate all of your new skills into your daily life.
What are the options for aftercare?
You and your individual DBT therapist will work together to decide on an appropriate aftercare program. Some patients decide that they need to strengthen their knowledge and understanding of skills, and they go into weekly DBT groups to review skills in-depth. Other patients need brief refreshers of skills as well as continued structure, community, executive functioning and emotion regulation coaching. Those patients are best served by SAGE II DBT/EF. Others may need to confront avoidant behaviors and would benefit from SAGE II CBT. SAGE II DBT/EF and SAGE II CBT can be combined simultaneously to create a four day per week experience that lasts eight weeks after graduation from SAGE I 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: