Free Virtual DBT Skills Group in Ontario

You may know you're getting activated but still struggle to slow things down. You may understand that a reaction isn't helping but not know what to do instead. Or you may find yourself shutting down, acting impulsively, overthinking, people-pleasing, or struggling to communicate what you need.

DBT-Informed Skills for Emotional Wellness is a free 12-week introductory skills group designed to help adults develop practical tools for navigating strong emotions, distress, and relationships.

You don't need a diagnosis to participate.

• Cost: Free
• Length: 12 weeks
• Sessions: 90 minutes, once per week
• Group Size: 6–10 participants
• Format: Virtual, via Google Meet
• Eligibility: Adults 18+
• Registration: Brief intake required before joining

This is a structured learning group. Each week includes skills teaching, guided practice, opportunities to apply the skills to everyday situations, and optional practice between sessions.  

Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT) is an evidence-based approach that teaches practical skills for responding to difficult emotions, stressful situations, and relationship challenges.

A central idea in DBT is learning to hold two things at the same time:

I can accept where I am right now, while also working toward change.

Rather than expecting you to simply “calm down,” “think positively,” or stop feeling what you feel, DBT provides concrete strategies for understanding what is happening and choosing how you want to respond.

The program moves through four major DBT skill areas—mindfulness, emotion regulation, distress tolerance, and interpersonal effectiveness—before bringing everything together into your own personal skills plan.

We begin by learning how to notice what's happening internally without immediately reacting to it.

You'll explore Wise Mind, the balance between Emotion Mind and Reasonable Mind, and practise DBT's Observe, Describe and Participate skills.

The goal isn't to empty your mind or force yourself to be calm. It's learning to notice what's happening and create a little more space between an experience and your response.

Next, we'll learn how emotions work—and how to respond to them more intentionally.

You'll explore:

• Why emotions make sense and what they're trying to communicate
• How emotions move from triggers to interpretations, body sensations, urges and actions
• Self-validation
• Your own 0–10 emotional escalation map
• PLEASE skills for reducing emotional vulnerability
• Check the Facts
• Opposite Action
• Building positive experiences and mastery

A major focus is learning to recognize activation earlier, when you still have more choices available to you. 

Some situations can be changed.

Others can't be changed right now.

Distress tolerance is about learning how to get through those difficult moments without making the situation worse.

We'll practise skills including:

STOP · Pros and Cons · TIPP · Grounding · Self-Soothe · ACCEPTS · Radical Acceptance · Turning the Mind

You'll also begin building your own distress-tolerance toolkit based on what actually works for you.

How do I ask for what I need without attacking, apologizing for existing, or abandoning myself?

We'll explore the different priorities we bring into relationships and learn practical DBT strategies including:

DEAR MAN — asking for what you need
GIVE — maintaining relationships
FAST — maintaining self-respect

We'll also practise validation, boundaries, and distinguishing a request from a demand.

The final week is about making the skills your own.

Rather than leaving with a long list of techniques, you'll develop a Personal Skills Plan based on your early warning signs, emotional intensity, the strategies that work for you, and the people or resources you can turn to.

We'll also practise Cope Ahead so you can prepare for predictable challenges before you're in the middle of them. 

You can participate meaningfully without discussing your trauma or sharing deeply personal experiences.

We use a “headlines, not details” approach. Personal examples are welcome when helpful for practising a skill, but participants are never required to disclose their history.

Moving, fidgeting, taking a break, or occasionally turning your camera off is also welcome. The program is designed to be trauma-informed and neurodivergent-affirming. 

Each 90-minute session follows a predictable structure:

Arrival + brief mindfulness → practice review → new skill → break → guided practice → application planning → closing

We don't expect you to master a skill immediately. You'll have opportunities to experiment between sessions and come back to discuss what worked, what didn't, and what you noticed.

In this group, missed practice is information—not failure.

No.

This is a DBT-informed introductory skills group, not comprehensive Dialectical Behaviour Therapy.

Comprehensive DBT typically involves several components, including individual psychotherapy, skills training, between-session coaching, and a therapist consultation team. This program provides the skills-learning component only, in a shortened 12-week format.

The group does not provide diagnosis, individual psychotherapy, trauma processing, crisis intervention, medication advice, or individualized clinical treatment.

You can participate while working with your own therapist or other healthcare providers.

Everyone interested in participating completes a brief 20–30 minute intake conversation before joining.

The purpose isn't to decide whether you're “good enough” for the group. It's to make sure the program matches what you need right now and that you have an appropriate level of support.

If another service would better meet your current needs, we'll help identify an appropriate next step rather than simply turning you away.