Summary
This is a Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) group, with a focus on the DBT component of Mindfulness. DBT can be helpful in addressing coping mechanisms that are no longer working for us. We often develop these coping mechanisms as a way to respond to painful events from our pasts. Unfortunately, the very skills that may have helped us survive and combat stressors at one moment in time are either not effective anymore or are creating difficulties in our lives. The purpose of DBT is to teach new skills or behaviors that can be applied to current stressors to ultimately bring us the quality of life and/or peace of mind we deserve. The philosophy behind this group is that mindfulness practice is an essential DBT component that enables us to fully utilize newly learned skills. Mindfulness is one’s ability to be aware and understand without judgment one’s current feelings and thoughts, and can result in meta-cognitive skills for controlling concentration and applying new behaviors. This group places an emphasis on the DBT component of mindfulness as a way to bridge the gap between past emotions and experiences and present opportunity for change. In this group we use mindfulness to apply curiosity and awareness to old behavioral patterns, slow things down with the insights accessed through mindfulness practice, and implement newly learned DBT skills when necessary. Each group will include a mindfulness exercise, general discussion, a presentation of a DBT skill, and participant examples of practical skill application for their everyday lives.
To register for this program please call 802 658 9440 ext. 138
$40/per class.
About Adrienne Slusky
Adrienne Slusky graduated from Antioch University New England in July 2010 with a Master of Arts in Clinical Mental Health Counseling.
As a mental health counselor, Adrienne uses a person-centered approach with her clients. She supports clients as the “experts” of their lives and demonstrates unconditional positive regard and empathy. Additional approaches and methods Adrienne applies, depending on client needs, include Relational/Cultural, Psychodynamic, Cognitive Behavioral, coping skills from Dialectical Behavioral Therapy, and Motivational Interviewing techniques. Adrienne also weaves Mindfulness techniques and Buddhist Psychology into all of the above methods. She often discusses the principles of Mindfulness with clients and encourages them to apply these principles to their lives when noticing thoughts, feelings, and physical sensations.
Adrienne’s prior clinical experience includes a two year internship at the University of Vermont’s College Counseling Center in Burlington, Vermont where she primarily provided individual counseling to college and graduate students ages 18-26 presenting with a variety of mental health concerns including depression, anxiety, substance abuse, bipolar disorder, adjustment disorder, eating concerns, and relationship and familial concerns. Adrienne has also facilitated therapeutic groups including Mindfulness Based Cognitive Behavior Therapy (MBCT), Dialectal Behavior Therapy (DBT) Skills, Supportive Counseling, and Expressive Arts Therapy. Recently, Adrienne worked as a case manager/group leader/clinician at an Intensive Outpatient Therapy Program that primarily used Dialectical Behavior Therapy to address ongoing quality of life interfering behaviors.
Adrienne provides ongoing, individual therapy to adults 18 + tailored to increase self-esteem, improve relationships, and foster compassion towards self and others. Adrienne embraces the concepts of basic goodness and compassion and assumes best intentions. She believes that individuals do the best they can in the moment, using what’s within their awareness. Adrienne sees counseling as an opportunity to jointly determine what new, helpful perspective, skills, or insights can be learned or uncovered and subsequently applied to a life stressor or challenging situation to enhance a client’s sense of well-being and overall quality of life.
