Building Emotional Acceptance and Regulation (BEAR) Track

The BEAR track is integrated within the General Track of the program, meaning it follows the same daily schedule. However, individuals on this track will attend one to two skills groups per day that are grounded in dialectical behavior therapy (DBT) and targeted for emotion regulation.

DBT is an evidence-based treatment for emotion dysregulation that aims to strengthen emotional skills and increase your ability to respond wisely and refrain from reacting impulsively in the face of pain, discomfort, and strong emotions. Many individuals in this track describe feeling like they’re on an emotional roller coaster that pulls them away from the person they want to be and the life they want to live. While we can’t always stop the ride, our goal is to help you get a hand on the wheel, steady the course, and move toward your personal values and goals.

This track continues to integrate elements of acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) and other third-wave treatments within group and individual sessions. We are not a full-model DBT program.

• Mindfulness: build connection to the present moment and ability to focus attention
• Distress tolerance: learn to respond effectively to unhelpful urges and impulses, reduce harmful behaviors, and ability to manage stress.
• Emotion regulation: identify, understand, and manage strong emotions
• Interpersonal effectiveness: improve relationships, set boundaries, and communicate needs
• Values: connect with what is meaningful, build identity, and increase self-acceptance.  
• Psychoeducation about your diagnosis: better understand emotion regulation difficulties and how/why they may develop

The BEAR track can be beneficial to those formally diagnosed with an emotion dysregulation disorder, such as borderline personality disorder, but a formal diagnosis is not required for the track.

Others who may benefit from the track experience one or more of the following: 

• Feeling like you’re on an “emotional roller coaster”
• Intense anger or difficulty controlling anger
• Recurrent self-injury (for example, cutting) to manage emotional pain
• Chronic suicidal thoughts, threats, or acts
• Unstable and intense relationships with friends, family, and treatment providers
• Changing easily from “loving” to “hating” others
• Impulsivity that is potentially dangerous or harmful (for example, impulsive spending, sex, eating, alcohol/drug use)
• Feelings of emptiness or emotional “numbness” that persist despite treatment
• Not having a clear or stable sense of self
• Excessive fears of abandonment resulting in relationship difficulties
• Unusual dissociative or paranoid symptoms that worsen with stress

Individuals are assessed for fit with the track upon admission to the program. It is possible to be in both the BEAR track and Young Adult Track, if appropriate.

The average duration of participation is two to three weeks. However, each patient has an individualized treatment plan, so the timing may vary.

See the admission criteria for general admission requirements for the Adult Partial Hospital Program.

The program runs Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Individual therapy and psychiatry sessions take place at various points throughout the treatment day. Attendance at groups and all individual sessions is expected. 

7:45 to 8:30 a.m. - Program Check-In

The check-in group runs via Zoom from 7:45 to 8:30 a.m.. All participants must check-in and speak with a support staff to confirm attendance prior to 8:30. Attendance is not required for the duration of this group. 

It is also possible a provider may schedule to meet individually during this time.

8:45 to 9:30 a.m. - Morning Skills Group

General skills groups are based in ACT or DBT.

9:45 to 10 a.m. - Optional Meditation Group

Practice mindfulness techniques to help cope with symptoms and enhance well-being.

10:15 to 11:45 a.m. - Interpersonal Group

This is a space to build connection and find peer support, while practicing and applying new skills.

Those in the Young Adult Track attend a young-adult-focused interpersonal group. 

11:45 a.m. to 12:45 p.m. - Break/Individual Sessions/Lunch

12:45 to 1:30 p.m. - Afternoon Skills Group

General skills groups are based in ACT or DBT.

1:30 to 2 p.m.- Break/Individual Sessions/Lunch