Dianna Vaughn calbaugh asked Debbie Corso:

My psychiatrist told me I am at an age, 52 currently, where DBT would not help me because by this age a person is too set in their ways. I have asked several times to be added to our local DBT classes and this was his final response to me. Do you think this is true or can someone of my age or older still be helped by DBT therapy?

Debbie Corso Hi Dianna - thank you for your question! I don't believe that someone in their 50s is so set in their ways that they couldn't potentially benefit from DBT skills unless other variables are present that would have a clinician believe the modality is not a good fit.

There are many students in my online DBT psychoeducational skills training course (that I co-facilitate with a licensed therapist) that are well over 50 and who have provided feedback that learning the skills has changed their lives. (You can see some of their testimonials of how learning dbt skills helped them at my website.)

Also, in the DBT program I attended in person at a psychiatric clinic, there were many attendees over 50 who had been referred by their therapists to the group.

I am not a therapist, so I would suggest having a more in-depth conversation with yours about why he believes DBT wouldn't be helpful and perhaps even getting a second opinion.

Hope this helps!

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