Imagine Recovery’s 12-week mental health DBT Skills Outpatient Program (OP) includes a three-hour therapeutic group and an individual therapy session weekly. Every OP client has access to a licensed therapist for DBT phone coaching 12 hours every day. OP group is held on Wednesdays from 1:30-4:30pm, two licensed clinicians facilitate, and group size is limited to 10 clients.
Outpatient Plus Program (OP Plus) clients can enroll in additional mental health-focused groups to enhance the OP experience listed above. These weekly groups allow those seeking outpatient mental health in New Orleans more opportunities to engage, learn, find community, and heal.
OP Plus group opportunities (choices are tailored to each client):
Mondays 9:00-9:50am Goals
Tuesdays 9:00am-11:00am Narrative Therapy
Tuesdays 11:00am-1:00pm Psychodrama
Wednesdays 9:00-9:50am Mind-Body Medicine Skills
Thursday 9:00-9:50am Gentle Path through the Twelve Steps
Fridays 9:00-11:20am Self-Compassion and Empathy
Fridays 11:30am-1:00pm Creativity
in addition to
Wednesdays 1:30-4:30pm DBT Skills Group
OP and OP Plus represent healthy treatment continuations for clients completing Intensive Outpatient services. As well, Outpatient programming signifies a positive step for adults seeking support with mental health issues or those without substance use challenges.
Imagine’s Outpatient Programs are transformative for individuals living with depression, anxiety, bipolar disorder, ADHD, OCD, and other mental health conditions. These can include borderline and other personality disorders, suicidal ideations, self-harm, process addictions, binge-eating disorder, PTSD and trauma-related issues.
“I am inspired by our clients’ bravery and courage to heal. Our clients come to us seeking relief from significant, daily distress. Oftentimes, our clients have found other treatment methods ineffective and express difficulty imagining a better life for themselves. They tell me they are stressed by chronic experiences of loneliness and unstable relationships. They tell me they are tired because it is exhausting to navigate daily highs-and-lows, intense urges, and lack of joy. DBT teaches our clients how to change their behaviors, thoughts, and emotions to build a life worth living. Our clients leave our program equipped with the skills necessary to meet their personal goals.” – Imagine Clinical Director, P. August Boyd, LCSW-BACS
Imagine Recovery’s DBT Skills Program Explores:
Emotion Regulation
The overall goal of emotion regulation is to reduce emotional suffering. There are several techniques available ranging from mindfulness to self-compassion. The goal is not to get rid of emotions, but better manage challenging ones. Some individuals will always be more emotional than others, and they can have tools to help balance soothe them.
Mindfulness
The goal of practicing mindfulness skills for most people is to reduce suffering and increase happiness. This can also help people be more present and accept things for what they are. For some, a goal of mindfulness is to experience reality as it is. For others, it can help them develop self-awareness, let go of the past or better understand their own behavior.
Distress Tolerance
These skills enable people to survive immediate crises without making things worse. They can calmly problem solve or stay rational during stressful moments. They can better accept reality when understanding they can’t change it and it’s not how we want it to be. Distress tolerance can also help people develop emotional maturity and patience as they won’t be as emotionally rattled by everyday circumstances.
Interpersonal Effectiveness
The basic goal is for participants to learn how to be effective in interpersonal interactions. This helps their interactions with others produce the outcomes they want. These skills teach participants how to achieve their goals without alienating the other person or losing their self-respect. Interpersonal effectiveness skills are also necessary for strengthening current relationships. Additionally, they are useful for finding and building new relationships. All module descriptions are derived from Marsha Linehan, PhD., ABPP, creator of dialectical behavioral therapy.
Outpatient Plus (OP Plus)
Imagine Recovery’s OP Plus mental health program encourages clients to customize their treatment by engaging in an additional inspiring and healing group that benefits them. This allows those seeking outpatient mental health treatment in New Orleans additional opportunities to find community, learn, interact, and heal.
During the 12-week OP Plus Program, clients attend Tuesday Narrative Therapy group for six weeks in addition to the Wednesday Outpatient (OP) DBT Skills group. This is followed by six weeks of Wednesday OP group. Throughout the 12 weeks, clients receive individual therapy on a weekly basis and have phone coaching with a licensed clinician available 12 hours every day.
The OP Plus groups we offer are:
Narrative Therapy
Tuesdays 11:00am-1:00pm
Narrative therapy is founded on the idea that we make meaning of our lives through the stories we live out as we interact with each other. These stories are shaped and constrained by the stories that are carried in our social, political, and interpersonal contexts — the ideas in our culture that we take for granted as “reality” are carried in these dominant storylines. When we feel stuck in stories that don’t measure up on some cultural scale of performance, we can restrict the possibility to perceive a better life. Imagine Recovery’s Narrative Therapy groups aim to help people experience some of the alternative storylines that already exist in their lives that may have been overshadowed or forgotten — stories with themes and plots that are in line with more empowering, more satisfying, more hope-filled futures. Such stories are always there if we look for them. The goal is to explore alternative stories to better match who we are and want to be, bringing about positive change and better mental health.
