Last week I had the privilege of attending a small DBT training by Julie Brown LICSW hosted by Telecare, the company I work for. WOW is she a dynamic speaker! She systematically broke down and explained DBT theory in a clear, concise and accessible way- something that tends to be rare with DBT trainings.
Julie has extensive experience as a DBT trainer and works in an outpatient environment with people who are developmentally disabled. She is in the process of coming out with a book through the Guilford Press where she relates DBT to the treatment of individuals who are developmentally disabled. I anticipate this will be a fabulous book and one that will become a much needed resource, since I find it difficult to wrap my mind around discussing things like “wise mind”, a complex and dynamic concept, in a concrete way. Julie has not titled her book yet, nor does she know when it will hit the shelves, but this has been 10 years in the making, is scientifically grounded and should make anyone’s “must read” list who works with developmentally disabled people.
Lastly, I couldn’t help but blurt out towards the end of the training how the creative arts in therapies are extremely useful in solidifying DBT ideas and that because of the inherent mindfulness in being creative, art + DBT mesh together almost effortlessly. I was pleasantly surprised by all the nodding heads and smiles from the attendees, as well as Julie’s positive response to my comment. Maybe it’s a west coast thing, but it seems that people are so welcoming of the CATs here.
Hello….
Thank you for your interesting note re the use of creative therapies and DBT with persons with DD. Kindly let me know when this book will be available as I am very interested in this population.
Thank you.
Kathy Honeyman, LCSW
Raleigh, NC
Hi Kathy,
Julie Brown made it sound like her book is a year or two from coming out officially. I’m also anticipating its release, and will definitely write a post when the book is on the shelves.
Thanks for stopping by!
– Liz
Martha Dyer, ATR works with DBT in art therapy. I went to her presentation in Cleveland at the conference, very dynamic. She is right in North Carolina too, in the triangle area, also has a men’s group, a group that I think has been historically overlooked in terms of Borderline diagnosis.
Hi Rita,
Thanks for pointing this out. Martha Dyer, ATR has her own website. Its quite comprehensive and worth checking out: http://www.marthadyer.com/
I, too would like to know when this book comes out. thanks for the tip re: Martha Dyer . I am a therapist and work with the developmentally disabled. The DBT curriculm is grest but very language based – hard to read and comprehend for this population. I use are as well, but I’m always looking for new methods and approaches.
Hi Jean,
I agree! DBT’s language based curriculum that uses lots of abstract thought/phrases/concepts makes it difficult to integrate its use with DD clients. I periodically check Amazon to see if Julie’s book has come out. So far not…but hopefully soon!
I was so happy to find your website and read comments about DBT for individuals with a DDX.
We have been running a group for 2 years in Newmarket, Ontario Canada and have found utilizing pictures and multimedia to be extremely helpful in assisting people to understand abstract concepts.
We also are running an evening mindfulness group for individuals with a DDX, families are encouraged to attend.
Wondering if this book is published yet?
Thank you
Hi Lori,
I just did a quick google search and didn’t find anything that pointed towards Julie’s book being published. I think your best best is to contact her directly…but after some searching, it seems she only has a mailing address posted—not an email address! You can find her mailing address here:
http://www.behavioraltech.org/training/trainerinfo/cv_jbrown0408.pdf
Thanks for stopping by!
– Liz