Immediate danger? Call 911. Health advice: call 811. Suicide crisis support: call or text 988.

12 sessions to build coping skills

DBT for Emotional Relief

A focused online group for learning practical ways to get through difficult moments and build a foundation for further DBT work. The sessions combine explanation, activities, skills practice, and reflection.

You don’t need to choose a program before contacting us. Intake does not commit you to treatment.

Your care at a glance

  • 12 structured online sessions
  • Typically 90–110 minutes
  • Psychoeducation, activities, practice, and reflection
  • Required first step before the next level of STG DBT Skills Group training
Fit and safety

Could this support fit your needs?

This service may be right for you if…

  • Emotions seem to arrive from every direction and are difficult to slow down
  • You want practical relief from emotional storms without denying that the emotion is real
  • Reactivity, mood swings, shame, avoidance, or relationship fallout keep repeating
  • You can participate in a structured skills group and practise between meetings

A different pathway may be safer or more useful when…

  • Frequent life-threatening behaviour or severe instability requires a more intensive level of care
  • Acute mania, psychosis, intoxication, withdrawal, or medical instability requires appropriate medical support
  • You already have a strong DBT foundation and are ready for Refresher Plus or Next Steps
Program structure

The 12-session learning sequence

The program follows a deliberate progression so participants build a usable emotional-response system rather than collecting disconnected tips.

Sessions 1–3 — Understanding emotions

Recognize emotional functions, name experiences more accurately, and increase awareness without immediate judgement.

Sessions 4–6 — Reducing emotional pain

Work with vulnerability factors, thinking patterns, behaviour, and skills that reduce preventable suffering.

Sessions 7–8 — Tolerating distress

Learn how to survive peaks and urges without making the situation worse.

Sessions 9–10 — Improving the moment

Use acceptance, meaning, attention, self-soothing, and practical strategies when the problem cannot be solved immediately.

Session 11 — Relationships

Apply validation, asking, limits, and effective communication to common relationship pressure points.

Session 12 — Future plan

Review the personal skill system, identify ongoing practice, and clarify whether the next level of DBT is indicated.
Clinical rationale

Insight often disappears at the exact moment it is needed

Many people understand their emotional pattern when calm. The difficulty is accessing a different response when the nervous system is activated. Emotional Relief builds a sequence of skills for naming the emotion, reducing vulnerability, surviving peaks, and improving the next moment.

Understand the emotion

Learn what emotions do, how they are triggered, and why judging them often adds a second layer of suffering.

Reduce immediate pain

Use concrete strategies to reduce avoidable emotional suffering and interrupt escalation.

Act more effectively

Practise distress tolerance, relationship skills, and small choices that reduce fallout after the peak.
Between-session and practical support

Pricing and access

The current public fee structure is income-based and is billed in blocks of four sessions. Participants also receive access to the STG learning platform for program materials and practice.

Per-session range

$35–$95 per session depending on income and benefit arrangements.

Four-session billing

Sessions are billed in blocks of four to support program continuity.

Pay-in-full range

$420–$1,140 for the 12-session program, depending on the applicable rate.
Fees and access

Fees and practical details

Confirm the current group rate and payment schedule during intake. Private plans and public benefits may exclude skills-training or group formats, even when individual psychotherapy is eligible.

YOUR QUESTIONS

Questions you may have

No. You are invited to practise and participate, but you are never forced to disclose information you do not want to share.

No. It is a structured DBT skills group with a defined curriculum, activities, practice, and reflection.

Sessions are generally 90–110 minutes, allowing time for teaching, exercises, practice, and questions.

Not necessarily. Intake determines whether group alone is sufficient or whether individual or comprehensive treatment is needed.

When appropriate, the program provides a foundation for the later DBT Skills Group sequence and more advanced work.

Related pathways

You may also be interested in…

DBT Skills Training

Continue into the full DBT skills sequence after building the foundation.

DBT Individual Therapy

Add personalized treatment for high-impact targets and behavioural patterns.

Guided DBT Self-Help

Choose a lower-intensity self-study pathway with monthly guidance.

You can work out the next step with us.

Tell us what has been difficult and what you hope to change. A clinician reviews your needs and explains the recommended support, practical arrangements, and next steps.

No referral is needed to contact the clinic. Your funding provider may have separate referral or authorization requirements.