Ages 16–30
DBT Skills Program for Neurodivergent Teens & Young Adults
When Emotions Feel Intense and Hard to Navigate
Sometimes the hardest part of an intense emotion is how quickly it takes over. Someone may know what usually helps when they are calm — but once distress, frustration, anxiety or overwhelm becomes intense, those strategies can suddenly feel much harder to access.
For neurodivergent teens and young adults, sensory load, uncertainty, social demands, communication differences, executive functioning demands and accumulated stress can also influence how much capacity is available in that moment.
The Social Space DBT Skills Program provides structured, practical teaching in mindfulness, emotion regulation, distress tolerance and interpersonal effectiveness — with opportunities for participants and their families to develop a shared understanding of the skills.
The aim is not to teach participants that strong emotions are wrong. It is to expand the number of options available when those emotions become difficult to navigate.
- Mindfulness
- Emotion Regulation
- Distress Tolerance
- Interpersonal Effectiveness
When Emotions Become Intense
Knowing a Strategy and Using It in the Moment Are Different Things
A participant may understand what they “should” do when they are calm. Take a break. Use a coping strategy. Explain what they need. Slow things down. Walk away from an argument. But when distress becomes intense, access to those strategies can become much harder. That does not necessarily mean the participant is refusing to use them — it may mean the emotional, sensory or cognitive load in that moment has exceeded their available capacity.
DBT skills training breaks complex emotional and interpersonal situations into concrete skills that can be learned, discussed, rehearsed and practised over time.
About the Program
Practical Skills for Difficult Moments
Dialectical Behaviour Therapy — usually shortened to DBT — is an established psychological approach originally developed by psychologist Dr Marsha Linehan. DBT combines two ideas that can sometimes feel contradictory: acceptance and change. Acceptance involves recognising what is happening right now without immediately judging the emotion or experience as wrong. Change involves developing skills and considering what might help next.
The Social Space DBT Skills Program draws on DBT principles and skills training and adapts the way these concepts are taught for neurodivergent teens and young adults and their families. Rather than relying on abstract explanations, skills are made explicit, structured, practical, visual where useful, relevant to real situations, and flexible enough to consider individual differences. The aim is not to make neurodivergent emotional expression look more neurotypical — it is to increase understanding and options.
Participants explore four core DBT skill areas: mindfulness, emotion regulation, distress tolerance and interpersonal effectiveness.
This is a DBT skills program, not comprehensive DBT treatment — it does not include individual DBT therapy, telephone coaching or a therapist consultation team. If one-to-one support is what you are looking for, see Individual Therapy.
Program Suitability
Could DBT Skills Be a Good Fit for You or Someone You Support?
The DBT Skills Program may be worth exploring when significant emotional intensity or overwhelm is getting in the way, and a structured, practical way of learning and rehearsing skills may be worth considering.
It may be worth exploring if you, or someone you support:
Experiences emotions that can become intense very quickly
Finds that stress or overwhelm can make strategies harder to access in the moment
May engage more readily with practical, explicit skills than with abstract discussion alone
Finds communicating needs or boundaries harder during emotionally charged situations
Would like more strategies for navigating periods of high distress
Needs significant time to recover after emotional or sensory overload
Experiences interactions that can escalate quickly when emotions are already high
Is open to exploring mindfulness and present-moment awareness skills
Is interested in developing a shared family language around emotions, distress and coping
Can participate in a structured group-learning environment with appropriate supports
Not all of these need to apply. Suitability is considered individually, taking into account strengths, goals, current needs, communication and sensory preferences, family context and whether the group format is likely to provide an appropriate learning environment.
Skills & Practice
Four Skill Areas — Different Tools for Different Moments
Mindfulness
Noticing what is happening in the present moment
Observing thoughts, emotions and physical sensations
Recognising internal and external cues
Creating a pause before automatically reacting
Emotion Regulation
Identifying and understanding emotions
Recognising factors that can increase emotional vulnerability
Noticing emotional patterns
Developing strategies that can influence emotional responses
Distress Tolerance
Recognising when distress is very high
Short-term crisis-survival strategies
Grounding and sensory-informed strategies where appropriate
Distinguishing solving a problem from getting through the immediate moment
Interpersonal Effectiveness
Communicating needs
Asking for help
Setting boundaries
Navigating disagreement while considering the relationship
Parents Learn Too
A Shared Language Helps When Emotions Are Already High
Participants are not learning these skills in isolation. Across all twelve weeks, a 90-minute parent/carer session runs at the same time as the participant’s session, covering the same skills that week. This matters because difficult moments often happen at home, long after the group session has ended.
A parent who understands the skills has more context for what the participant is learning and can support opportunities to practise without turning every emotional moment into a therapy exercise. Parents/carers can explore validation, understanding emotional vulnerability, responding when distress is high, supporting skill use, communication, boundaries, the balance between acceptance and change, and their own responses during difficult interactions.
The aim is not for parents to become therapists. It is to give families enough shared understanding that the participant is not expected to carry all of the learning alone. Participants aged 18 and over can nominate a support person — a partner, sibling, friend or another person they choose — rather than a parent or carer.
How It Works
Learn. Practise. Apply. Revisit.
- 01
Understand
Learn a DBT concept or skill and why it may be useful.
- 02
Make It Concrete
Use examples, visuals, discussion and structured explanation to connect the idea to real situations.
- 03
Practise
Rehearse how the skill might work before needing it in a difficult moment.
- 04
Apply
Experiment with skills between sessions in relevant everyday situations.
- 05
Revisit
Reflect on what worked, what did not and what might need to be adapted.
Why This Program?
Our Approach to DBT Skills Training
Four Practical DBT Skill Areas
Participants explore mindfulness, emotion regulation, distress tolerance and interpersonal effectiveness.
Neurodivergent-Informed Delivery
Skills are made explicit and practical, with consideration of sensory, communication, processing and executive functioning differences.
Acceptance + Change
The program does not begin from the assumption that every difficult feeling needs to disappear.
Parents Learn Too
Parent/carer sessions create shared understanding and language around the skills.
Real-Life Application
Participants practise considering when and how skills might be useful outside the group.
Research & Evidence
What Informed Our Approach?
The Social Space’s DBT Skills Program was developed within our clinic to provide a practical, structured way for neurodivergent teens and young adults and their families to explore DBT-informed skills together.
This specific 12-session program has not been independently evaluated as a research intervention. Instead, its development has been informed by established Dialectical Behaviour Therapy principles, clinical experience, and research examining DBT and DBT-informed skills approaches with adolescents and families.
A Broader Evidence Base
Dialectical Behaviour Therapy has an established research literature, including studies of Dialectical Behaviour Therapy for Adolescents (DBT-A). Research has examined DBT approaches for adolescents experiencing significant emotion dysregulation and related difficulties, with randomised trials reporting benefits within the specific clinical populations studied. (Mehlum et al., 2014 )
Why Include Parents?
DBT-informed approaches have also explored the involvement of parents and carers. Research evaluating parent/carer skills groups within adolescent DBT services has reported promising changes in areas including parent distress, family communication and family functioning. Smaller studies have also explored parent-only DBT skills training. (Smith et al., 2023 ; Marco, Mayoral & Hervás, 2024 )
What This Means for Our Program
These studies help inform the principles and skills that underpin our approach, but they should not be interpreted as evidence for The Social Space's program itself.
Our 12-session format, neurodiversity-affirming adaptations and approach to working with participants and families have been developed within our clinic and have not yet been independently evaluated.
Flexible Delivery
Where This Program Can Be Delivered
Mascot Clinic
Structured face-to-face group delivery at The Social Space.
Online / Telehealth
Online participation may be available depending on the current program format and individual suitability.
Current delivery options and availability are discussed during the initial consultation.
Want to Learn More About the DBT Skills Program?
Our team can learn more about what you are looking for, answer your questions and discuss whether the DBT Skills Program and available group format may be a suitable option.