DBT Skills Group at Integrative Path Therapy (formally DBT Center of the South Bay)

DBT Skills Group – Integrative Path Healing

Are you struggling with overwhelming emotions, relationship stress, or impulsive behaviors that feel hard to manage?

In Person in Las Vegas, NV

Or Online in California, Oregon, and Washington

When emotions feel overwhelming, relationships are full of tension, or impulsive urges take over, it’s easy to feel like you’re just trying to get through each day. DBT Skills Training offers practical tools to help you respond instead of react—so life feels a little more manageable and you feel more in control.

At Integrative Path Healing, I offer DBT Skills Training in two ways:

DBT Skills Groups for adults
Individual Skills Sessions for those who prefer one-on-one support

Both options are grounded in compassion, structure, and real-life application. Whether you’re new to DBT or looking to build on your existing knowledge, you’ll find a non-judgmental space to grow at your own pace.

About Our DBT Skills Group in Las Vegas, NV

Photo of a wooden bridge in a fall setting. Are you searching for a path to better understand yourself? An online DBT skills group in Las Vegas, NV, can show you how to manage your daily life with enhanced confidence.

I lead DBT Skills Groups at Integrative Path Healing alongside Lauren Caravello, LCSW, LICSW. While Lauren runs her independent practice, Caravello Counseling, we’ve come together to offer a space where learning DBT skills can feel both structured and human. Her depth of experience and compassionate approach bring a great deal to the group.

We’ve both seen how these skills can change lives, and we’re committed to creating a space that’s supportive, down-to-earth, and non-judgmental—where you can show up exactly as you are and grow from there.

What to Expect in DBT Skills Training

DBT Skills Training sessions are structured more like a class than a therapy group. Whether you’re joining us in person or online, each session includes direct teaching, practical examples, time for discussion, and home practice to help you apply what you’re learning. Our role as leaders is to bring these skills to life in a way that feels real and accessible, not like a lecture and not like group therapy. This is a place to learn, ask questions, and feel supported as you try out new ways of responding to the challenges in your life.

Four Core DBT Skills We Cover in Training

Mindfulness

Mindfulness is the foundation of DBT—and at the center of it is the Wise Mind, the place where emotion and reason come together. It’s that quiet, steady inner voice that helps you respond in a way that fits your values and the moment.

We teach mindfulness through two sets of skills:

“What” Skills – These describe what you do to be mindful:
- Observe – Notice what’s happening in your body and around you without judgment.
- Describe – Put words to what you notice so it becomes clearer and easier to work with.
- Participate – Be fully engaged in the moment without self-consciousness or distraction.
“How” Skills – These describe how to practice mindfulness:
- Non-judgmentally – Replace evaluations with facts or observations.
- One-mindfully – Focus on one thing at a time.
- Effectively – Do what works, not just what feels right or fair.

Mindfulness helps you slow down, stay present, and make choices that align with your life goals—even when emotions are intense.

Want to learn more?

I’m writing an ongoing DBT Skills Series that explores these skills in everyday life—one blog at a time. Each post brings a different skill to life with real-world examples, practical tools, and relatable situations. You can check out the series here. More blogs are posted regularly.

Interpersonal Effectiveness

Build Stronger Relationships Without Losing Yourself

Interpersonal effectiveness skills enable you to navigate relationships with greater confidence, clarity, and self-respect. These skills support you in asking for what you need, saying no, setting boundaries, and maintaining meaningful connections—even in high-stress situations.

In DBT, we organize these skills around three core goals:

Get What You Need While Protecting the Relationship

This section focuses on how to speak up effectively and assertively:

Clarifying Priorities – Deciding what matters most: the outcome, the relationship, or your self-respect.
DEAR MAN – A step-by-step skill for assertiveness.
GIVE – Skills for maintaining the relationship while advocating for yourself.
FAST – Skills to protect your self-respect during difficult conversations.
Factors to Consider – Learning when and how strongly to use each skill based on context.

Strengthen or End Relationships with Intention (Optional)

When appropriate, we introduce skills that support building new connections or deciding when it’s time to let go of relationships that are no longer healthy. These topics are covered when they are felt to be relevant and meaningful to the group.

Walk the Middle Path (Optional)

This part of the module emphasizes dialectical thinking—learning to hold two truths simultaneously, such as “I’m doing the best I can” and “I need to do better.” We also focus on validation: understanding and expressing that someone else’s experience makes sense, even if you see things differently. These skills help reduce conflict, promote empathy, and support balanced, respectful communication.

Want to dive deeper into how DBT can support your relationships?

Check out my blog: How DBT Helps You Navigate Relationships Without Losing Yourself.

Emotion Regulation

Emotion Regulation skills help you understand your emotions, reduce emotional vulnerability, and build a more balanced emotional life.

In DBT, these skills are taught in four parts:

1. Understand and Name Emotions

Before you can work with emotions, you must understand what you’re feeling and why. Knowledge is power. You’ll learn how to:

Observe emotions as they show up in your body and mind.
Put accurate language to your experience.
Understand what emotions do for you—like alerting you to danger, strengthening connection, or preparing you for action.

2. Reduce Emotional Vulnerability

Strong emotions are harder to manage when you’re depleted. These skills help you build a more stable foundation:

ABC PLEASE Skills:
- A: Accumulate positives in the short and long term.
- B: Build mastery by doing things that grow your confidence.
- C: Cope ahead by preparing for emotional situations.
- PLEASE: Take care of your physical health—treat illness, eat well, avoid mood-altering substances, sleep, and exercise.

3. Change Emotions That Aren’t Helping

Sometimes, emotions don’t fit the facts—or lead us to act in ways that don’t serve us. This section helps you respond more skillfully by using:

Check the Facts to see whether your emotional response matches the situation.
Opposite Action to do the opposite of what an unhelpful emotion urges.
Problem-solving involves changing the situation when the emotion aligns with the facts.

4. Reduce Emotional Suffering

Even when emotions are valid, they can still hurt. These skills help you feel your emotions without getting overwhelmed:

Mindfulness of Current Emotions—staying present with your experience rather than avoiding or judging it.
Managing Extreme Emotions—using grounding strategies to ride out emotional waves without spiraling.
Troubleshooting—noticing when skills aren’t working and adjusting your approach.

These tools help you create a more predictable emotional world—where you still feel deeply, but you’re not constantly being swept away.

Distress Intolerance

Surviving Pain and Accepting Reality

Distress Tolerance skills help you get through emotional pain without making things worse. This module is divided into two parts:

Crisis Survival – skills to manage overwhelming emotions and urges in the moment
Reality Acceptance – skills to reduce suffering when the situation can’t be changed

Crisis Survival Skills

These tools help you stay grounded during emotional storms—so you can ride out the wave without reacting in ways you’ll regret.

STOP – A pause button for reactivity
TIP – Using cold water, intense movement, and calming breath to reset your body
Distract with ACCEPTS – Shifting your focus with activities, sensations, or creativity
Self-Soothe – Comforting yourself through the five senses
IMPROVE the Moment – Making the present more bearable using imagery, prayer, or encouragement
Pros and Cons – Weighing the outcomes of reacting vs. using skills

These skills won’t fix the situation, but they will help you get through it with your values intact.

Reality Acceptance Skills

When the crisis can’t be fixed, these skills help you stop fighting reality, so you can stop adding to your pain.

Radical Acceptance – Acknowledging what is, without approving or resigning
Turning the Mind – Choosing acceptance again and again
Willingness vs. Willfulness – Doing what works, even when it’s hard
Mindfulness of Thoughts – Noticing painful thoughts without judgment or spiraling

Distress Tolerance doesn’t mean giving up—it means finding steadiness in the storm and responding with intention.

Our DBT Skills Training Approach as Therapists

At Integrative Path Therapy, DBT Skills Training is designed to be clear, supportive, and grounded in real life. Skills sessions are structured with consistency and intention, whether you’re in a group or working one-on-one. Each session includes:

A mindfulness practice to start
Review and discussion of home practice
Teaching new DBT skills with real-life examples
Discussion, questions, and practical application

We teach DBT the way it was intended—using Marsha Linehan’s DBT Skills Training Manual—while bringing in modern examples and flexibility to meet you where you are. We want these skills to feel useful, not abstract or rigid.

All sessions are led by two experienced DBT therapists who work closely together to keep the learning process engaging, grounded, and supportive.

(Led by Kari Barker, LMFT, and Lauren Caravello, LCSW, LICSW)

Group and Individual Options

You can join skills training in three formats:

In-Person Group

📍 Las Vegas, NV

The group meets weekly in person in Las Vegas, NV. It offers a consistent, non-judgmental space to learn, practice, and grow with others.

Virtual Group

Photo of tall palm trees from a ground perspective. Are you struggling with anxiety, depression, or BPD? Online DBT skills group training in Las Vegas, NV, can show you a new perspective that promotes positivity.

💻 Nevada, California, Oregon, & Washington.

Weekly online group sessions are offered for adults in California, Nevada, Oregon, and Washington.

Individual Skills Sessions

📍 Las Vegas, NV or 💻 Online

This option is available when group participation isn’t possible or preferred.

Picture of a therapist taking notes during a therapy session. If you’re ready to join a DBT skills group in Las Vegas, NV, we welcome you to contact our office and schedule a consultation to learn more.

Groups meet for two hours each week and typically include 2 to 8 participants, allowing for shared learning while maintaining a focused and supportive space. If you’re doing individual skills training, the same curriculum is covered on a timeline that fits your needs.

Orientation and Group Requirements

Before joining the group, all clients complete DBT Skills Orientation. This helps you understand how DBT works, what the group is like, what’s expected, and how to get the most out of the experience.

To participate in DBT Skills Training, you must also be in individual therapy. If you already have a therapist, we’ll request a release of information so that we can coordinate your care. If you don’t, you’re welcome to participate in individual therapy with Kari or Lauren while attending the group.

The group is where you learn the skills. Individual therapy is where you explore how those skills apply to your unique experiences and challenges. Both parts work together to create meaningful, lasting change.

Groups meet online or in person, with 2 to 8 members. Online groups are available in Nevada, California, and Oregon. In-person groups are held in Las Vegas, NV.

Is DBT Skills Training the Right Fit for You?

DBT Skills Training is a good fit if you find yourself feeling overwhelmed by emotions, stuck in unhelpful patterns, or unsure how to manage intense situations or relationships. You don’t have to be in a complete DBT program to benefit, although individual therapy is required.

These skills can help you build emotional balance, enhance communication, strengthen relationships, and respond more effectively to stress.

While many people benefit from the group format—sharing examples, learning from others, knowing they’re not alone—individual skills training can also be effective when a group isn’t the right fit.

We’ll help you figure out what works best for your needs and goals.

Are you ready to start DBT Skills Group in Las Vegas, NV or online in Nevada, California, Oregon, and Washington?

If you’re ready to begin working with us at Integrative Path Therapy, we’d love to hear from you. Whether you’re a new client or returning to DBT Skills Training, the first step is to reach out. We’ll help you determine whether this group is the right fit and walk you through the next steps to get started.

You can reach out to Kari Barker, LMFT, or contact Lauren Caravello, LCSW, LICSW, through her website.

Other Services Integrative Path Therapy Provides In Nevada & California

At Integrative Path Healing (formerly DBT Center of South Bay), I offer several services to support adults navigating emotion dysregulation and complex life changes. Whether you’re interested in joining a DBT Skills Group or you’re seeking another therapy method, we can explore your therapeutic path together.

Aside from DBT Skills Groups, I also offer DBT therapy, trauma therapy, and EMDR to adult individuals, families, and couples in need of healing. I also assist those struggling with dissociation, suicidal thoughts, or self-harm. Additionally, I provide therapist consultations and DBT training for clinicians looking to broaden their skillset.

Let’s explore your unique path toward healing, hope, and self-discovery. I work exclusively with adults, seeing clients in person in Las Vegas, NV, and Torrance, CA, and online across Nevada, California, and Oregon.

FAQs Related to DBT SKills Groups

What is Integrative Path Therapy’s approach to DBT Skills Training Sessions?

At Integrative Path Therapy, DBT Skills Training is more than just learning a list of coping tools. Our approach is active, collaborative, and grounded in real life. We help you not only understand the skills but also apply them in ways that feel doable, meaningful, and personal to you.

Here’s what sets our DBT Skills Training apart:

We teach with the whole person in mind.

DBT was originally designed to support people experiencing intense emotions, impulsive behaviors, or relationship challenges. Whether you’re dealing with anxiety, trauma, emotion dysregulation, or simply feeling overwhelmed by life, we meet you where you are. Skills are taught with warmth, respect, and a deep belief in your ability to grow.

Skills are taught in a structured, step-by-step way.

We follow the full DBT skills curriculum across four modules:

Mindfulness – increasing awareness, presence, and Wise Mind
Emotion Regulation – understanding, managing, and reducing emotional suffering
Distress Tolerance – surviving crisis moments without making things worse
Interpersonal Effectiveness – communicating clearly, setting boundaries, and maintaining self-respect in relationships

Each session builds on the last, offering both teaching and real-life examples. You’ll receive handouts, worksheets, and guidance for how to practice each skill between sessions.

We focus on real-world applications, not just information.

Our sessions are interactive and practical. You’ll have space to ask questions, troubleshoot challenges, and explore how each skill fits into your daily life. We don’t just teach what the skill is—we help you figure out how to make it work for you.

We support you in building a life worth living.

DBT isn’t about perfection. It’s about progress. Skills training helps you respond more effectively to the parts of life that are painful, confusing, or out of control—and gives you tools to move toward a life that feels more stable, connected, and intentional.

What does the leader in a DBT group focus on?

In a DBT Skills Group, the group leader acts more like a skills trainer or coach than a traditional therapist. Their main focus is helping you learn, understand, and apply the DBT skills in your everyday life.

Here’s what you can expect from the group leader’s role:

Teaching Skills in a Clear, Structured Way

Each session follows a lesson plan based on one of the four DBT modules. The group leader explains each skill step-by-step, provides handouts or worksheets, and often uses real-life examples to help make the skill more relatable and understandable.

Helping You Apply Skills to Real-Life Situations

You won’t just hear about the skill—you’ll talk about how to use it. The leader will guide discussions to help you connect the skill to your own experiences, problem-solve challenges, and learn from others in the group.

Keeping the Group Focused and on Track

DBT groups are skills-based—not process or support groups. The leader helps keep the focus on learning and practicing skills rather than diving into personal stories in depth. This ensures that everyone gets the full benefit of the curriculum.

Creating a Supportive and Respectful Environment

The leader sets the tone for safety, structure, and mutual respect. They model DBT principles like validation, dialectical thinking, and mindfulness, and they help group members do the same.

Encouraging Practice Between Sessions

The group leader will invite you to practice each week’s skill between sessions and return to reflect on how it went. You’ll never be forced to share, but you’ll be encouraged to engage in a way that supports your growth.

The overall goal of the DBT group leader is to help you build mastery, confidence, and clarity—so you can take these skills into your life and use them when it matters most.

How many people are in a DBT Skills Group?

At Integrative Path Therapy, our DBT Skills Groups are intentionally kept small and focused to support meaningful learning and participation. Each group includes a minimum of 2 and a maximum of 8 participants.

This smaller group size allows us to:

Provide more individualized attention and support
Create a safe, respectful, and welcoming environment
Make space for real-life examples, questions, and discussion
Stay on track with teaching the full DBT curriculum

Whether you’re more talkative or prefer to listen and reflect, our group structure is designed to help you learn in a way that works for you, without getting lost in the crowd.

How many weeks is DBT Skills Training?

At Integrative Path Therapy, DBT Skills Training begins with a required Orientation, followed by a minimum of 26 weeks to complete one full cycle of the DBT skills curriculum. This includes all four modules: Mindfulness, Emotion Regulation, Distress Tolerance, and Interpersonal Effectiveness.

While 26 weeks is the minimum, research shows that completing two full cycles (about one year of skills training) is significantly more effective. Why?

Because the first time through the skills is like learning a new language. You’re being introduced to unfamiliar ideas, building new habits, and trying to use skills in real-time—often in the middle of emotional storms.

By the second cycle, you’re more fluent. You know the names of the skills, you’ve practiced them, and now you can hone in more deeply on applying them to your everyday life—in your relationships, your reactions, and your decision-making.

You’re not starting over. You’re building mastery.

Can you do DBT without group sessions?

In standard DBT, skills training is a required component, and it’s typically done in a group format. That’s because learning the full set of DBT skills—Mindfulness, Emotion Regulation, Distress Tolerance, and Interpersonal Effectiveness—requires focused teaching, repetition, and real-life application over time.

That said, not everyone can participate in a group. At Integrative Path Therapy, we offer individual DBT skills sessions for people who can’t attend a group due to scheduling conflicts, personal preference, or other reasons.

If you’re doing DBT without group, here’s how we adapt:

You’ll still learn the full curriculum—just one-on-one, in a more personalized format.
Skills practice is still expected, and you’ll be guided to apply them in your daily life.
The work is still structured and intentional, following the same sequence used in group-based DBT.

While many people benefit from the group setting—hearing others’ examples, knowing they’re not alone—individual skills training can still be effective, especially when paired with the other components of DBT.

If you’re unsure what format is right for you, we’ll talk through your options and create a plan that fits your needs.

What is one limitation of the DBT group setting?

One limitation of the DBT group setting is that it’s not designed to address individual therapy needs in depth. The focus of the skills group is on learning and practicing DBT skills, not on processing personal stories, unpacking trauma, or receiving one-on-one emotional support.

This can be frustrating for some people, especially when strong emotions come up during group. You might want more time to talk through your experiences or get personal feedback, and that level of support typically happens in individual therapy, not in a group.

At Integrative Path Therapy, we make this distinction clear from the start:

Skills group is for learning: We teach, model, and help you practice DBT tools in a supportive setting.
Individual DBT therapy is where deeper work happens: You’ll explore what’s behind the emotions, apply skills to your specific situations, and receive personalized guidance.

Both settings work together to help you build a life worth living. If you’re in group without individual therapy, we’ll let you know when something is better suited for individual support, and help you get connected.

Contact

For more information about therapy or to explore whether we’re a good fit, feel free to reach out. I look forward to hearing from you.

You’re welcome to reach out by phone, text, or email. Whatever feels most comfortable to you.

If I’m in a session and unable to answer the phone, please don’t hang up immediately; the line may ring several times before voicemail picks up.

I check messages, texts, and emails regularly and respond within one to two business days.

I appreciate your patience. I look forward to connecting with you.

Integrative Path Therapy

In-Person Locations

7477 W. Lake Mead Blvd., Suite 210
Las Vegas, NV 89130

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23717 Hawthorne Blvd., Suite 205
Torrance, CA 90505

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Online Therapy Available in Nevada, California, and Oregon

(702) 518-0121

www.integrativepaththerapy.com

kari@integrativepaththerapy.com