Four Phases of Treatment in TF-DBT

United States Department of Homeland Security

DBT has four phases.
The first phase consists of teaching clients skills to bring basic stability and reduce crisis orientation.
No trauma work should take place while the client is in crisis.
The second phase consists of stabilizing their emotions.
The third phase consists of generalizing their skills to other aspects of their lives.
The fourth phase consists of building a life consistent with their goals and values.
‘Stage’ tends to imply a concrete, tightly defined, and linear sequence of events.
‘Phase’ implies a series of events that are less defined or more open-ended.
The purpose of the phase model is to have a sense of where a client is at in their treatment, so the clinician knows how to proceed.