Expectations of Group

Attendance

1. Attendance is incredibly important. Please make every effort to attend every session because your attendance is both necessary for your own success and the success of  your classmates. If you do miss, you are expected to schedule with me a make-up time for the missed session.

2. No shows and cancellations within 24 hours will result in a full class charge and count as an absence. 

3. Arriving more than 15 minutes late or leaving early is considered an absence. Your group members and I all think that you being there is incredibly important, so we want you there the whole time!

4. Obviously, life happens (such as sickness, deaths, emergencies, etc.) so keep me in the loop ahead of time, and we will plan accordingly.

Conduct in Class

1. Please treat all folks in class with respect, non-judgment, and consideration.

2. Please protect the privacy of your classmates by keeping discussions from class confidential.

3. Please come to class sober from alcohol and recreational substances.

4. Please only talk about topics that are not potentially triggering to classmates (i.e.. not discussing substance use, self-harm, disordered eating, trauma history, prior hospitalizations, etc).

5. Please prioritize class unity by not forming cliques or having intimate relationships with classmates.

6. Please limit side discussions. I (and probably some of your classmates) have ADHD, and side talks totally distracts me!

7. Please serve as supporters and cheerleaders for your classmates and not their therapists.

8. Please come with notebooks, completed homework, and a writing utensil to class.

Participation

1. All materials from the therapist can be found on the DBT Skills Group page. Mandatory assignments, readings, or videos will be marked with an asterisks (*). All unmarked documents or links are optional but encouraged for you to get the full benefit of skills class

2. In general homework will be due at the beginning of class and will be completed on paper. Jordan will give more information in the first few classes. 

3. If you are unable to get your homework done, please still come to class. You will be asked to complete a missing links analysis (which will be shown to you) and an extension will be granted.

4. I ask of you to speak at least once in every class. You are an important part of everyone’s growth, including your own!

5. Expect to be asked to reflect on activities in class, homework from the previous week, or information from that particular lesson. Reflections can be questions, opinions, emotions, etc. 

Limits can always change, so some of these expectations may change with notification from the therapist.