Distress Tolerance Groups

Online Distress Tolerance Group

The distress tolerance group is a safe, confidential space where we will explore together ways of coping with and managing distress.

The group is facilitated by two therapists and will include 8-12 people in total.

What to expect

The group will meet online once a week for 8 weeks.

Please let us know about any concerns you might have about attending an online group meeting, as well as any learning needs you may have.

We might ask you if English is a language you feel comfortable communicating in, as well as your experience of being in groups, including any positive or negative experiences. Before each session, we will email you a questionnaire that asks you to rate how you have been feeling over the past week. This questionnaire is a useful way to check-in with oneself and think about what you may like to talk about or reflect on.

In the first session, there will be time to get to know each other a little better and consider what each member of the group would like to get from the time we have together. We will create an agreement, that everyone will need to agree to, of the ground rules and boundaries each member needs to feel safe so that everyone feels comfortable enough to participate as much or as little as they need to.

In subsequent sessions, there will be time to share your experiences, if you want to, as well as a topic or focus for each week. This will be an idea, technique, or strategy that the two therapists have found in their professional and personal experience to be useful when coping with distress. There will be time to discuss the topic in relation to yourself and each other, so that together we can explore how this might prove useful in real life.

At the end of each session, there will be a chance to reflect briefly on how the session was for you and to share any ideas, resources or materials that may be useful for each other.

Please note: You will need a laptop, tablet or mobile device and an internet connection in order to attend the group. Please be aware, if using a mobile device, that video calls can use a large amount of mobile data. You will need to provide an email address in order to attend the group.

Meeting Online

The group meeting will take place online using Microsoft Teams. You will be sent a link via the email address you have provided to a private, secure online meeting room a few minutes before the start of the session.

We suggest you find a quiet and comfortable space that is private enough so that you will not be disturbed for the duration of the meeting. Please do not share your meeting link with anyone else.

Confidentiality

Confidentiality is an important part of the distress tolerance group. In the first session, we will discuss and agree what ground rules and boundaries each member needs in order to feel safe and comfortable enough to participate. There will also be some basic requirements we will need to keep the group as helpful as possible:

• • What is said in the group will remain in the group. The only exception to this will be if we believe there is a risk of harm to you or someone else. If this is the case, one of the facilitating therapists will always try to make you aware of this privately.
  • When meeting online, we ask that you keep your camera on and microphone muted except when speaking. This is to ensure everyone in the group is aware of who they are sharing with. Where possible, please use headphones to protect the privacy of others speaking in the group.
  • When sharing with the group, we ask you to try to avoid using identifiable information about others such as names, addresses and places of work so as to protect the privacy of everyone in the group.
  • If you need to leave during a session for any reason, this is no problem, but we ask that you let one of the therapists know so that we can check-in with you privately.

Useful Information & FAQs

Do I need to download Microsoft Teams?

No, you do not need to own or download Microsoft Teams. The meeting link sent to your email address will let you join via your desktop, tablet or mobile browser.

What if I need to arrive late to the meeting?

Please let one of the therapists know at least 24 hours in advance of the meeting if you know you will need to arrive late. This is so the group can know when to expect other participants joining.

If for whatever reason you are running late on the day, please let one of the therapists know and the online meeting link will remain open for 15 minutes after the start meeting. After this time, we will need to close the online link to minimise disruption for the group.

What if I am unable to attend?

If you know you will be unable to attend, this is no problem, please let one of the therapists know at least 24 hours in advance. If you do not attend without letting us know, one of the therapists will be in touch to check-in with you and see if you can attend the next session.