Why DBT STEPS-A

What if we could reduce…

  • school discipline issues

  • drug and alcohol use

  • risky sexual behavior

  • bullying victimization and prepetration

  • school dropout rate

  • school placement to alternative school school settings

  • self-harming behavior

  • suicidal ideation

And improve…

  • schoolwide academic performance via GPA

  • school graduation rate

  • school attendance rate

  • school climate

  • emotion regulation and decision-making abilities

Social Emotional Learning provides the necessary skills for helping students reach their full education potential by teaching coping strategies and decision-making skills that focus on the mental well-being of students.

DBT STEPS-A is a unique SEL curriculum that offers an upstream universal approach for teaching emotion regulation skills and coping strategies designed for middle and high adolescents (ages 12-19 years-old). The curriculum is structured within an Multitiered Systems of Support framework and provides manualized lessons and student handouts for ease of administration and implementation by a general education teacher/instructor. The skills of the DBT STEPS-A curriculum are evidence-based and divided into four main modules: mindfulness, distress tolerance, emotion regulation, and interpersonal effectiveness which align with the five CASEL competencies.