What is the highest priority target of the individual therapist when doing DBT Phone Coaching?

In Dialectical Behavior Therapy, the primary goal of phone coaching is to provide immediate support to clients in using their DBT skills during moments of distress or crisis. The highest priority target for an individual therapist during phone coaching is to decrease client distress immediately. This is crucial because the ability to manage distress effectively is a foundational aspect of the skills taught in DBT.

When clients contact their therapist during a crisis, they are often struggling with overwhelming emotions or situations. The therapist's immediate focus is on helping the client navigate this distress using the skills they have learned in therapy. By emphasizing immediate distress reduction, therapists can empower clients to apply DBT techniques in real-time, which not only helps alleviate their current emotional pain but also enhances their ability to cope in the future.

While generalization of DBT skills and gathering therapeutic data are important aspects of the therapeutic process, they are secondary to the immediate need to support the client in reducing their distress. Mediating family conflicts, although it can be a useful function of therapy in certain contexts, does not align with the immediate goals of phone coaching in DBT. Therefore, the priority in this setting remains focused on reducing client distress immediately, facilitating the application of learned skills in crisis situations.