DBT Strategies for Use with Individuals and Couples to Reduce Toxic Dynamics

Credits

Speaker

Krystal Mazzola Wood Related seminars and products

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Krystal Mazzola Wood, LMFT, is a licensed marriage and family therapist, author, and codependency expert. Krystal received her undergraduate degree in gender studies and human sexuality from the University of Arizona. She then attended the University of Oregon to pursue their couples and family therapy master’s program in 2009. It was highly important to Krystal to attend an inclusive program as this was prior to the Marriage Equality Act.

Krystal gained her expertise in codependency by working at The Meadows, a world-renowned treatment center. Here, Krystal trained under pioneering codependency expert Pia Mellody. Throughout this time, Krystal has been fascinated by the systems in which people suffer – and recover – from the beginning of her career. This systemic focus led her to create her five-step codependency recovery system, which is featured in her book, The Codependency Recovery Plan: A 5-Step Guide to Understand, Accept, and Break Free from the Codependent Cycle. To support readers further, she then wrote The Codependency Workbook: Simple Practices for Developing and Maintaining Your Independence.

Krystal’s systemic focus also led her to a four-part program for health boundaries. This program is featured in her current training at PESI, CBT, DBT & EMDR Strategies to Free Clients from Codependency, Narcissistic Abuse & Attachment Trauma.

Krystal currently treats individual and couples’ clients experiencing codependency at her practice, The Healthy Relationship Foundation. She is currently working on her third book due late 2022, Self-Love Made Possible: The 5-Step Guide to Stop Being Your Own Worst Enemy and Become Your Own Best Friend. She also contributes weekly to her blog for empowering dating advice, Confidently Authentic.

 

Speaker Disclosures:
Financial: Krystal Mazzola Wood is the CEO and therapist at the Healthy Relationship Foundation. She receives royalties as a published author. Krystal Mazzola Wood receives a speaking honorarium and recording royalties from PESI, Inc. She has no relevant financial relationships with ineligible organizations.
Non-financial: Krystal Mazzola has no relevant non-financial relationships.

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Objectives

1. Assess for common toxic relationship dynamics in clients including co-occurring issues related to PTSD, addiction, personality disorders and neurodivergence.
2. Create comprehensive treatment plans for couples with toxic relationship dynamics to improve treatment outcomes.
3. Integrate skills like mindfulness, emotional regulation, distress tolerance, and interpersonal effectiveness to effectively reduce toxic relationship dynamics in clients.
4. Develop safety and intimacy amongst couples experiencing toxic relationship dynamics to move towards healthy, safe, interdependent relationships utilizing DBT skills and improve client level of functioning.
5. Manage countertransference successfully to prevent or eliminate alignment with either partner in session.
6. Utilize clinical strategies to guide clients successfully through a treatment plan utilizing DBT skills from all core domains of DBT.

Outline

Introduction to DBT for healing toxic relationships

• Review of DBT (overview)
• Toxic relationships vs. healthy ones
• Involvement in toxic relationships and common problematic cycles
• The need for additional support in addressing trauma, personality disorders, codependency recovery, substance abuse recovery, and eating disorder recovery

Must-Have DBT Treatment Planning for Easier Couples Work

• How to increase awareness of problematic relational cycles
• Top techniques to improve communication and intimacy
• Look at the limitations, risks, and how to assess safety
• Treatment planning and types of sessions:
  • Assess individual couple’s needs and explaining circular causality and systems theory
  • Common concerns and other issues
• Phase 1: States of Mind and Mindfulness
  • Awareness of individual contributions to problematic cycles
  • States of mind and encouraging ongoing selfassessment
• Phase 2: Emotional Regulation and Distress Tolerance
  • Create a sense of safety and effective communication
  • Co-regulation and helping partners to manage stress and emotions
  • Help partners find peace with Radical Acceptance training
• Phase 3: DBT for Communication Skills, Safety, and Intimacy Enhancement
  • Enhancing communication while staying in wise mind or taking breaks when necessary
  • Teach assertiveness skills, validation, and genuine accountability
  • Build empathy and deepening interdependency
• Work through impasses and potential referrals for individual support
• Graduation - reminders and regression warning signs
• Q&A session

Self of the Therapist

• Work on clients’ authentic sense of self and personal integrity
• Self-validation and avoiding dependency on therapist authority
• Personal DBT skills for you and managing countertransference
• Prevent alignment - looking at own history and feelings
• Q&A session

DBT for Individual Clients in Toxic Relationships

• Treatment planning: enhancing self-awareness, selfsoothing, and trust in own reality
• Transition from couples therapy to individual therapy
• Addressing limitations and risks
• Phases of treatment: mindfulness, distress tolerance, and emotional regulation skills

Interpersonal Skills

• Improve self-respect and communication skills
• FAST Skills for self-respect.
• Validation of partner alongside self-validation
• DEAR MAN technique
  • Negotiate what is negotiable; identify nonnegotiables
  • Review “all or nothing” thinking
• Review broken record technique while embracing Radical Acceptance of reality
• Wise mind statements to enhance assertiveness and overcome cognitive errors

Target Audience

• Counselors
• Social Workers
• Psychologists
• Psychotherapists
• Therapists
• Marriage & Family Therapists
• Addiction Counselors
• Case Managers
• Physicians
• Nurses
• Other Mental Health Professionals