WISE Teens

WISE Teens is an adaptation of Dialectical Behavior Therapy Skills Training for Emotional Problem Solving for Adolescents (DBT STEPS-A) designed for teens in middle and high school. WISE Teens is an abbreviated version of the DBT STEPS-A curriculum that aims to help teens “build a life worth living” by developing skills such as emotion management, relationship building, and decision-making skills to help them navigate challenging situations and stressors that can arise during adolescence. WISE Teens’ approach is grounded in the idea that two seemingly opposing facts can both be true, most notably that the curriculum’s goals include both acceptance and change. WISE Teens instructors strive to help participants both accept themselves and make changes in their behavior.

WISE Teens includes two key components: (1) group skills training and (2) consultation team meetings. During the group skills training component, instructors teach behavioral skills to groups of teens over four modules: (1) mindfulness, (2) distress tolerance, (3) emotion regulation, and (4) interpersonal effectiveness. The mindfulness and distress tolerance modules focus on building acceptance-oriented skills while the emotion regulation and interpersonal effectiveness modules focus on building change-oriented skills. In the mindfulness module, instructors emphasize accepting current circumstances and being present. In the distress tolerance module, instructors instruct teens on how to accept and tolerate painful situations. In the emotion regulation module, instructors focus on helping teens learn to be less susceptible to painful emotions. Finally, in the interpersonal effectiveness module, instructors strive to help teens learn to ask for what they want, to say no when necessary, and to maintain respectful relationships with themselves and others. During the consultation team meetings, instructors discuss any implementation challenges and receive support designed to improve their capacity to deliver the curriculum. 

WISE Teens does not currently meet criteria to receive a rating because no studies of the program achieved a rating of moderate or high on design and execution.

Date Research Evidence Last Reviewed: May 2024

Sources

The following sources informed the program or service description, target population, and program or service delivery and implementation information: the program or service manual, and the program or service developer’s website.

This information does not necessarily represent the views of the program or service developers. For more information on how this program or service was reviewed, visit the download the Handbook of Standards and Procedures, Version 1.0