DBT for College Aged Students: Is This Class Right for Me?

So you’re already struggling, and now you have to go to college. College often involves more responsibility which is tough when you’re already struggling. Maybe your life feels like an uphill climb, in the rain, in knee-deep mud? Does it feel as though you can never catch a break and everywhere you turn, something more challenging occurs? Or maybe you feel like your emotions dictate your life and you’re exhausted and ready to give up. Are you a high school senior or a current college student? Are you wanting to make some changes but worried you’ve run out of time before you go to college this fall? If any of this sounds familiar, keep reading to find out if the Summit’s DBT college course could help you change your life!

1. You have difficulty in relationships

Do you find it hard to connect with people without feeling fearful of rejection? Is it challenging to get what you need or want from others? Maybe you have a tough time setting boundaries or advocating for yourself. Or perhaps you notice you struggle to keep healthy friendships or relationships. Good news, the DBT college class can help you learn effective skills to get your needs met, set boundaries, feel good about yourself in interactions, and maintain healthy relationships before you head to college.

2. You’re riding an emotional rollercoaster that never stops

Do you ever feel like your entire day or week is spent fighting with others, crying, and/or feeling overwhelmed? Or maybe you notice that it’s hard to recover from emotional reactions, and it takes you a long time to calm down. DBT can help! The DBT college class focuses on teaching skills to help you manage your emotions, effectively handle conflict, and learn to tolerate difficult emotions.

3. You are using unhealthy coping skills to manage your emotions

Are you currently using risky behaviors to cope with difficult emotions including drugs or drinking? Are you self-harming, wanting to self-harm, or thinking about suicide? We all deserve to have a life that’s worth living, and the DBT college class can provide you with skills to manage these urges. DBT can help you find different, more effective long-term solutions so that you can create a life that you enjoy without needing unhealthy coping skills.

4. Therapy hasn’t worked in the past

Perhaps you’ve tried a different therapist, different medications, and nothing seems to work for you. DBT is a research-supported therapy for treatment-resistant symptoms such as anxiety and depression. The DBT college course can help you grow and learn in ways that previous therapy has not before you go to college.

5. Are you a high school senior or college student home for the summer?

This DBT college class is an accelerated version of DBT that combines Mindfulness, Emotion Regulation, Distress Tolerance, and Interpersonal Effectiveness into one, 8-week class taught by intensively trained DBT therapist. While the DBT college class is an accelerated model, it still maintains standards and class formats created by Marsha Linehan, the developer of DBT. Not only will you learn helpful, research-driven skills to help you create a life worth living, but you will also learn skills in a shorter amount of time to set you up for success in college.

If you are interested in learning more about or signing up for the DBT College Class, please contact the Summit Counseling Center by calling 678-893-5300.