ASAP is Cincinnati’s premiere outpatient treatment center for teenagers and their families struggling with substance use.

Clarity Intensive – DBT Program

What is Clarity Intensive?

Clarity Intensive is an evidence-based program designed to help teens with serious emotional and behavioral disorders. At Clarity Intensive, clients will participate in group skills training to learn behavioral skills that can help them cope with life’s challenges.

Therapists use dialetical behavior therapy (DBT) to teach skills which emphasize balancing acceptance with change. Clinicians will use validation to enhance client motivation and will engage clients in individual therapy with a focus on helping clients develop a life worth living.

Clarity Intensive’s skills training covers five modules:

  • Mindfulness (skills for focus, relaxation)
  • Distress tolerance (coping in times of crisis)
  • Interpersonal effectiveness (skills for interacting with others)
  • Walking the middle path (seeing things in multiple ways)
  • Emotion regulation (skills for managing intense emotions)

Clarity Intensive requires that parents attend one parent group per week. Parents will be taught the skills that their teens are learning in order to reinforce skill-building outside of group.

Who benefits from Clarity Intensive?

Clarity Intensive is designed to serve adolescents between the ages of 13 and 19 with emotional and behavioral disorders. The program is targeted at teens who have either not had success in individual therapy and need a more intensive treatment option or have been in a residential or in-patient program and need “step down” treatment.

At Clarity Intensive, we treat teens with a variety of diagnoses including, but not limited to:

  • Depression
  • Anxiety
  • Bipolar disorder
  • Borderline personality disorder
  • Post-traumatic stress disorder.
  • Dual diagnosis of mental illness and substance use disorder

Why Clarity Intensive?

At Clarity Intensive, our warm and engaging providers utilize an evidence-based treatment in order to provide clients with the best possible care. DBT has been shown to be effective in treating a myriad of mental health concerns, including personality disorders, depression, and parasuicidal behaviors (e.g., cutting). It is particularly effective at reducing both parasuicidal behaviors and suicide risk. Additionally, the DBT model has been shown to reduce client attrition as well as burnout for treatment providers. DBT prioritizes treatment targets in a specific order to help the therapist organize treatment and maximize the client’s safety and adherence to treatment.  In short, DBT works – and it works for people who have not been successful with other treatments.

When does the program meet?

Clarity Intensive has two tracks. The groups meets twice weekly, either on Mondays/Fridays OR Tuesdays/Fridays from 4:00-7:00pm. A typical episode of care lasts around 12-15 weeks. Individual sessions can be held throughout the week, by appointment with your assigned individual therapist. Parent group meets weekly on Wednesdays evenings from 6:00-7:30.