Group Therapy
Chrissandra M. Andra, LCSW, PLLC
Phone: 815-600-3107 ~ info@queerbehaviors.com ~ Fax: 866-500-5380
Group Fee Tiers
| $30 | We are happy to offer this reduced fee by redistributing the funds paid by clients opting to pay a higher fee (see below). You might consider paying the subsidized fee if you: – Struggle to maintain access to basic needs such as healthcare, housing, food, and childcare, and/or – Have financial dependents, and/or – Have significant debt, immigration fees, or medical expenses, and/or – Have a chronic illness that impacts your earning power, and/or – Receive government assistance, and/or – Perform labor that is criminalized. |
| $50 | |
| $70 | By paying this fee, you are covering the cost of your enrollment in group. You might considering paying this fee for skills group if you: – Are struggling to pay off debt, build savings, and/or move away from living paycheck to paycheck, and/or – Have access to a steady income, and/or – Do not worry about meeting basic needs such as healthcare, housing, food, and childcare. |
| $100 | By paying this fee, you are allowing us to offer a subsidized rate to other group members. You might consider opting into this fee for skills group if you: – Have access to financial security/wealth (such as property ownership), and/or – Do not owe debts, and/or – Generally do not worry about securing necessities, and/or – Work part-time by choice, and/or – Travel recreationally. |
| $130 | |
| $160 |
Group Schedules
Abbreviated DBT Skills
(14 weeks)
- Anticipated Start: September 2024
- Time: 5:30 or 6pm – 8 or 8:30pm
- Size: 8 – 12 participants
Advanced DBT Skills
(12 weeks)
- Anticipated Start: TBD
- Time: TBD
- Size: TBD
DBT Mindfulness Skills
(12 weeks)
- Anticipated Start: February 2025
- Time: TBD
- Size: TBD
DBT Skills for Addictive Behaviors (4 weeks)
- Anticipated Start: Thursday the 6th of March 2025
- Time: 5:30 or 6pm – 8 or 8:30pm
- Size: 8 – 12 participants
DBT Skills for Emotion Regulation (15 weeks)
- Anticipated Start: Friday the 19th of July 2024
- Time: 2:30 – 5pm
- Size: 8 – 12 participants
Graduate DBT Skills
- Anticipated Start: TBD
- Time: TBD
- Size: TBD
Standard DBT Skills
(24 weeks)
- Anticipated Start: Thursday the 5th of September 2024
- Time: 6:15 – 8:45pm
- Size: 8 – 12 participants
Group Descriptions
Note: If attending via Zoom, we require you to attend from a private space to preserve the confidentiality of fellow group members. Additionally, we ask that you have access to technology that allows you to:
(A) see material (e.g., teaching slides, teaching videos, fellow members, etc.) on a screen;
(B) listen to facilitators and participants;
(C) participate with your camera on; and
(D) participate with your microphone on.
The 14-week DBT Skills Group is an abbreviated version of DBT skills training that covers the essentials; it is an appropriate choice for those who have already done some DBT skills training and are looking for a DBT-skills refresher, and/or whose time and money are limited. DBT effectively treats borderline personality disorder (BPD), eating disorders, treatment-resistant depression, and a variety of other disorders.
Marsha Linehan developed the DBT skills training approach with the overall goal of helping “individuals change behavioral, emotional, thinking, and interpersonal patterns associated with problems in living” (Linehan, 2014). At the core of DBT is the dialectic of acceptance and change; two modules are taught for each side of this dialectic. This group delivers skills that can help us: decrease our suffering, increase our happiness, increase our sense of freedom, increase our attentional control, experience reality without painful interpretations/assumptions, find balance in our lives, survive crises, understand our emotions, decrease our unjustified and ineffective emotions, decrease our vulnerability to negative emotions, increase our resilience, get us what we want, and improve our relationships.
Skills covered include:
- Mindfulness (2 weeks)—wise mind, observe, describe, participate, nonjudgmentalness, one-mindfulness, and effectiveness.
- Distress Tolerance (4 weeks)—minority stress for sexual and gender minorities, changing body chemistry, distracting, self-soothing, improving the moment, radical acceptance, turning the mind, willingness, mindfulness of current thoughts, and alternate rebellion.
- Emotion Regulation (4 weeks)—what emotions do, model for describing emotions, accumulating positive emotions, building mastery, coping ahead, mindfulness of current emotions, and opposite action.
- Interpersonal Effectiveness (4 weeks)—factors that get in the way of interpersonal effectiveness, objectives effectiveness, relationship effectiveness, self-respect effectiveness, and evaluating options (the dime game).
You are eligible for this group if:
- You’ve attended a DBT skills group and/or are receiving DBT(-informed) individual therapy.
- You’re attending regular, individual therapy.
- You’re willing to attend group on a regular basis (missing no more than 2 meetings in a row).
- You’re willing to avoid coming to group under the influence of drugs or alcohol.
- You’re willing to practice skills outside of group.
- You’re willing to keep information obtained during group (including the names of fellow participants) strictly confidential.
- You’re willing to call/email providers ahead of time when you will arrive late or miss a meeting.
- You’re willing to avoid private relationships with fellow group members.
- You’re willing to pay your bill.
The Advanced DBT Skills Group is for individuals who have completed 6 months of DBT Skills training (at any practice) in all 4 modules of skills training: mindfulness, distress tolerance, emotion regulation and interpersonal effectiveness. The purpose of this skills group is to learn skills that weren’t covered in previous groups and strengthen existing skills.
Skills covered include:
- Mindfulness (2 weeks)– wise mind, observe, describe, participate, non judgmentalness, one-mindfulness, effectiveness, mindfulness from a spiritual perspective, and loving kindness
- Building Relationships (3 weeks): finding and getting people to like you, mindfulness of others, ending relationships, validation, and identifying an recovering from invalidation
- Walking the Middle Path (2 weeks): dialectics, walking the middle path, and skillful means
- Behavior Change (4 weeks): chain analysis, missing-links analysis, behavior-change strategies (i.e., increasing and decreasing desired behaviors)
You are eligible for this group if:
- You’ve attended a DBT skills group for at least 6 months, covering all 4 modules (mindfulness, distress tolerance, emotion regulation, and interpersonal effectiveness).
- You’ve gone a minimum of 6 months without psychiatric hospitalization before joining the group
- You’re attending regular, individual therapy.
- You’re willing to lead mindfulness practices.
- You’re willing to attend group on a regular basis (missing no more than 3 consecutive meetings over 12 weeks).
- You’re willing to avoid coming to group under the influence of drugs or alcohol.
- You’re willing to practice skills outside of group.
- You’re willing to keep information obtained during group (including the names of fellow participants) strictly confidential.
- You’re willing to call/email providers ahead of time when you will arrive late or miss a meeting.
- You’re willing to avoid private relationships with fellow group members.
- You’re willing to pay your bill.
The 12-week skills group covers all of the mindfulness skills from each DBT module; it is an excellent introduction to mindfulness concepts and practice. DBT Mindfulness Skills is based on Zen practices, as well as on research that shows mindfulness can have positive effects on both our mental and physical health. This group comprehensively focuses on mindfulness, to deliver skills that can decrease our suffering, increase our happiness, increase our sense of freedom, increase our attentional control, and help us experience reality without painful interpretations or assumptions. This group culminates in a participant-led practice session.
Skills covered include:
- Mindfulness—wise mind, observe, describe, participate, nonjudgmentalness, one-mindfulness, effectiveness, mindfulness from a spiritual perspective, loving kindness, dialectics, skillful means, and walking the middle path.
- Distress Tolerance—minority stress for sexual and gender minorities, body scan meditation, sensory awareness, mindfulness of current thoughts, radical acceptance, turning the mind, willingness, half-smiling, and willing hands.
- Emotion Regulation—mindfulness of current emotions
- Interpersonal Effectiveness—mindfulness of others day/time TBD
You are eligible for this group if:
- You’re attending regular, individual therapy.
- You’re willing to attend group on a regular basis (missing no more than 2 meetings in a row).
- You’re willing to lead a mindfulness practice for fellow participants.
- You’re willing to avoid coming to group under the influence of drugs or alcohol.
- You’re willing to practice skills outside of group.
- You’re willing to keep information obtained during group (including the names of fellow participants) strictly confidential.
- You’re willing to call/email providers ahead of time when you will arrive late or miss a meeting.
- You’re willing to avoid private relationships with fellow group members.
- You’re willing to pay your bill.
This group focuses on skills to support emotion regulation; it may be an appropriate place to start for those who have no DBT skills training to date, and/or who would like to more fully internalize previous skills training through a queer, anti-oppressive lens. DBT effectively treats borderline personality disorder (BPD), eating disorders, treatment-resistant depression, and a variety of other disorders. Marsha Linehan developed the DBT skills training approach with the overall goal of helping “individuals change behavioral, emotional, thinking, and interpersonal patterns associated with problems in living” (Linehan, 2014). At the core of DBT is the dialectic of acceptance and change; two modules are taught for each side of this dialectic. This group delivers skills that can help us: decrease our suffering, increase our happiness, increase our sense of freedom, increase our attentional control, experience reality without painful interpretations/assumptions, find balance in our lives, survive crises, understand our emotions, decrease our unjustified and ineffective emotions, decrease our vulnerability to negative emotions, increase our resilience, get us what we want, and improve our relationships.
Skills covered include:
- Mindfulness (3 weeks)—wise mind, observe, describe, participate, one-mindfully, nonjudgmentally, effectively
- Distress Tolerance (4 weeks)—changing body chemistry, distracting, self-soothing, improving the moment, radical acceptance, turning the mind, willingness, half-smiling, mindfulness of current thoughts
- Emotional Regulation (7 weeks)—what emotions do, model for describing emotions, accumulating positive emotions, building mastery, coping ahead, mindfulness of current emotions, opposite action, problem solving, taking care of your mind by taking care of your body
- Interpersonal Effectiveness (1 week)—objectives effectiveness, relationship effectiveness, self-respect effectiveness, validation
You are eligible for this group if:
- You’re attending regular, individual therapy.
- You’re willing to attend group on a regular basis (missing no more than 2 meetings in a row).
- You’re willing to avoid coming to group under the influence of drugs or alcohol.
- You’re willing to practice skills outside of group.
- You’re willing to keep information obtained during group (including the names of fellow participants) strictly confidential.
- You’re willing to call/email providers ahead of time when you will arrive late or miss a meeting.
- You’re willing to avoid private relationships with fellow group members.
- You’re willing to pay your bill.
The 24-week DBT Skills Group is the standard model for DBT skills training, and is a good place to start for those who have had no DBT skills training to date, and/or who would like to more fully internalize previous skills training through a queer, anti-oppressive lens. DBT effectively treats borderline personality disorder (BPD), eating disorders, treatment-resistant depression, and a variety of other disorders. Marsha Linehan developed the DBT skills training approach with the overall goal of helping “individuals change behavioral, emotional, thinking, and interpersonal patterns associated with problems in living” (Linehan, 2014). At the core of DBT is the dialectic of acceptance and change; two modules are taught for each side of this dialectic. This group delivers skills that can help us: decrease our suffering, increase our happiness, increase our sense of freedom, increase our attentional control, experience reality without painful interpretations/assumptions, find balance in our lives, survive crises, understand our emotions, decrease our unjustified and ineffective emotions, decrease our vulnerability to negative emotions, increase our resilience, get us what we want, and improve our relationships.
Skills covered include:
- Mindfulness (6 weeks): wise mind, observe, describe, participate, nonjudgmentalness, one-mindfulness, effectiveness, skillful means, walking the middle path, loving kindness, dialectics, and how to think and act dialectically
- Distress Tolerance (6 weeks): minority stress for sexual and gender minorities, stopping, pros and cons, changing body chemistry, distracting, self-soothing, improving the moment, radical acceptance, turning the mind, willingness, dialectical abstinence, clear mind, mindfulness of current thoughts, and alternate rebellion
- Emotion Regulation (7 weeks): what emotions do, model for describing emotions, accumulating positive emotions, building mastery, coping ahead, mindfulness of current emotions, opposite action, problem solving, and taking care of your mind by taking care of your body
- Interpersonal Effectiveness (5 weeks): factors that get in the way of interpersonal effectiveness, objectives effectiveness, relationship effectiveness, self-respect effectiveness, and evaluating options (the dime game), troubleshooting interpersonal skills, finding and getting people to like you, ending relationships, and validation
You are eligible for this group if:
- You’re attending regular, individual therapy.
- You’re willing to attend group on a regular basis (missing no more than 2 meetings in a row).
- You’re willing to avoid coming to group under the influence of drugs or alcohol.
- You’re willing to practice skills outside of group.
- You’re willing to keep information obtained during group (including the names of fellow participants) strictly confidential.
- You’re willing to call/email providers ahead of time when you will arrive late or miss a meeting.
- You’re willing to avoid private relationships with fellow group members.
- You’re willing to pay your bill.
Grad Group is for individuals who have completed 6 months of DBT Skills training (at any practice) in all 4 modules of skills training: mindfulness, distress tolerance, emotion regulation and interpersonal effectiveness. The purpose of this skills group is to give and receive peer support using DBT skills.
Group members determine what content will be reviewed.
You are eligible for this group if:
- You’ve attended a DBT skills group for at least 6 months, covering all 4 modules (mindfulness, distress tolerance, emotion regulation, and interpersonal effectiveness).
- You’ve gone a minimum of 6 months without engaging in target behaviors (such as self-harm, suicide threats, suicide preparations, suicide attempts, or substance abuse) before joining the group.
- You’ve gone a minimum of 6 months without psychiatric hospitalization before joining the group.
- You’re attending regular, individual therapy.
- You’re willing to lead a mindfulness practice for fellow participants.
- You’re willing to attend group on a regular basis (missing no more than 2 meetings every 8 weeks).
- You’re willing to avoid coming to group under the influence of drugs or alcohol.
- You’re willing to practice skills outside of group.
- You’re willing to keep information obtained during group (including the names of fellow participants) strictly confidential.
- You’re willing to call/email providers ahead of time when you will arrive late or miss a meeting.
- You’re willing to avoid private relationships with fellow group members.
- You’re willing to pay your bill.
- You’re willing to assist peers in solving life problems.
- You’re willing to bring life problems to peers.
An addictive behavior is any repetitive behavior that an individual is unable to stop, despite the negative consequences of the behavior and the person’s best efforts to stop (Linehan, 2014). This group focuses on skills to address addictive behaviors. Participants will learn how to identify and discern between states of mind from which participants may be considering their addictive behaviors, identify pros and cons to participants’ addictive behaviors, create plans for abstaining from addictive behaviors as well as plans for handling lapses and relapses, and maintain abstinence from addictive behaviors.
Skills covered include:
- Safety planning.
- Pros & cons.
- Wise mind, Clear mind.
- Dialectical abstinence.
- Alternate rebellion.
- Adaptive denial.
- Burning bridges and building new ones.
- Community reinforcement.
You are eligible for this group if:
- You’re attending regular, individual therapy.
- You’re willing to attend group on a regular basis (missing no more than 2 meetings in a row).
- You’re willing to avoid coming to group under the influence of drugs or alcohol.
- You’re willing to practice skills outside of group.
- You’re willing to keep information obtained during group (including the names of fellow participants) strictly confidential.
- You’re willing to call/email providers ahead of time when you will arrive late or miss a meeting.
- You’re willing to avoid private relationships with fellow group members.
- You’re willing to pay your bill