Orienting Clients to Telephone Coaching in Dialectical Behavior Therapy

• There is a relative dearth of information on telephone coaching in DBT
• This paper provides a basic overview of how to orient new clients to DBT phone coaching
• The paper highlights 6 important areas and their role in orientation to phone coaching.
• A video and several vignettes are provided to further elucidate how to orient clients to DBT telephone coaching.

Considerable attention in the literature has been devoted to individual therapy and group skills training in dialectical behavior therapy. However, there is a relative dearth of information on telephone coaching in DBT. While several authors have addressed important issues in DBT, including studies on efficacy and therapeutic considerations, what is glaringly absent from the literature is a basic overview of how to orient new clients to DBT phone coaching. The goal of the current paper is to highlight the following six important areas and their role in orientation to DBT phone coaching: (a) orientation to the three functions of DBT telephone coaching; (b) orientation to the rationale of the 24-hour rule; (c) orientation to the logistics of contacting their therapist after hours; (d) orientation to observing the therapist’s personal limits; (e) orientation to the purpose of phone holidays; and (f) orientation to the practice of using skills prior to calling. A video is provided to further elucidate how to orient clients to DBT telephone coaching.