Interpersonal Effectiveness

Module on Interpersonal Effectiveness is to teach clients how to have skillful interaction in their relationships.

As many clients in DBT skills training groups want to improve the quality and quantity of their relationships, yet they often don’t have the tools to communicate effectively and increase assertiveness - which is why the DBT approach helps so much. We don’t all learn the skills we need for communication from our parents or teachers. And that’s why DBT assumes that clients are doing the best they can with the skills they have and may have areas where they can learn more.

Once clients learn to practice these skills, they will then have more tools to attend to relationships, and increase assertiveness and self-respect. And, more than any other skills module, these interpersonal effectiveness skills require practice, practice, and more practice!

The skills involved in this module are named based on acronyms for clients memory, such as Dearman, give, fast. First the DEARMAN skill is for objective effectiveness, to help clients be effective in asserting their rights and wishes. Or to help them say no in an effective way. Though it is primarily used whenever they want to ask another person for something.

While the GIVE skill is for relationship effectiveness. This is when a client needs to act in such a way that they maintain positive relationships and that others feel good about the client and themselves after the interaction. This helps clients make relationships important and feel that way.

Lastly the FAST skill is for teaching self respect effectiveness. This shows clients how to act in such a way that they keep their self respect while having disagreements or interactions.

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