Superparenting 101: How to Raise a Supersenser

April 4, 2023 – September 26, 2023

Children do not come with an instructional manual.

Most caregivers can do good-enough parenting and meet the needs of their children. Unfortunately, good-enough parenting may not be good enough for emotionally sensitive children (supersensers).

It does not take much for supersensers to react. Their reaction tends to be very fast and intense, and may take a long time to subside. Caregivers need to learn how to create a validating and change-ready environment to raise a supersenser, as regular parenting may be insufficient to meet their needs.

Supersensers need superparents!

That’s why Dr. Francheska Perepletchikova, a world-leading therapist, researcher, and trainer, developed Dialectical Behavior Therapy for Children (DBT-C), an evidence-based treatment used to help children and pre-adolescents who struggle with strong emotions and corresponding behavioral dyscontrol, such as:

The DBT-C model emphasizes the caregivers’ role in improving a child’s level of functioning, where caregivers’ adaptive responses are seen as one of the main mechanisms of change.

Dr. Perepletchikova is offering an informational course to caregivers of supersensers, who are struggling with emotional and behavioral dysregulation

The course consists of two parts with 12, 90-minute sessions in each part (24 sessions total). Caregivers can choose to take any part they see fit, although taking both parts is recommended.

What will be covered

  • Instruction on Parent Management Training, modified to specifically address severe emotional and behavioral dysregulation.
    • Instruction on application of behavioral principles and techniques (e.g., validation, reinforcement, shaping, ignoring, etc.) with emotionally sensitive children. 
      • Training in essential DBT-C skills from four modules: Mindfulness, Distress Tolerance, Emotion Regulation and Interpersonal Effectiveness.
      • Identification of core problems that can be contributing to the child’s emotional and behavioral dysregulation.
      • Identification of issues that may interfere with effective parenting.
      • Facilitation of cognitive restructuring.
      • Facilitation of positive self-regard, self-validation, and self-compassion. 
      • Facilitation of behavioral change through the development of an internal locus of control (i.e., ability to attribute success and failure to own responses).
      • Facilitation of an ability to build and maintain positive relationships with others.

      Schedule

      Live 90-minute sessions (60-min of teaching and 30-min of role-plays, practices, and Q&A) will be held weekly via Zoom at three different times to accommodate different time zones. You can select the time that works best for you.

       8:30am EST – 10:00am EST on Tuesdays

      12:00pm EST – 1:30pm EST on Wednesdays

       7:00pm – 8:30pm EST on Thursdays

      There will be a short break between parts 1 and 2 of the course from 06/20/2023 to 07/11/2023 to accommodate catching up with any remaining material. Given that the course includes live Q&A, we may need to go over 12 weeks per each part, depending on the level of participation. Please be prepared that each part may be extended by two weeks, free of extra charge.

      Pricing

      The fee is $80/session and $1,920 USD total for the full course. There is a $360 discount if you purchase Part 1 and Part 2 together.

      Groups of 3 who register at the same time are also eligible a discount of more than 60% off.

      Individuals
      PART 1 $80 per session Click to Register
      PART 2 $80 per session Click to Register
      FULL COURSE $65 per session Click to Register
      Groups (3)
      PART 1 $50 per session Click to Register
      PART 2 $50 per session Click to Register
      FULL COURSE $30 per session Click to Register

      If you’re not satisfied with the course after two sessions, you can request a refund. We highly recommend not missing sessions, as material builds on itself. Videotaping sessions is prohibited due to confidentiality restrictions.

      If you miss a session, please contact us at help@childdbt.com for further information on how to make up for the missed information.

      Click here to read the disclaimer and refund policy.

      Meet your instructor

      Dr. Francheska Perepletchikova, Ph.D. is a world-leading therapist, researcher, and trainer. She specializes in psychological services for children with severe emotional and behavioral dysregulation, including suicidality and non-suicidal self-injury, severe verbal and physical aggression, treatment-resistant depression, social phobia, and generalized anxiety. As a faculty at the Yale University and Weill Cornell Medicine, she developed Dialectical Behavior Therapy for children (DBT-C) and conducted several randomized clinical trials to empirically validate this model.

      Curriculum

      Session 1 – Your supersenser – the dialectical view of emotional sensitivity

      Session 2 – Validation! Validation! Validation! 

      Session 3 – What is invalidation?

      Session 4 – Ways to promote change without parental invalidation

      Session 5 – Essential Mindfulness and Distress Tolerance skills

      Session 6 – Essential Emotion Regulation and Interpersonal Effectiveness skills

      Session 7 – Practicing skills with a “not so willing” supersenser

      Session 8 – Reinforcement and prompting with a “my way or highway” child

      Session 9 –  Shaping and school programs

      Session 10 – Planned ignoring with an explosive child

      Session 11 – Punishment when fists are already flying

      Session 12 – Putting it all together to help improve a relationship with an environment

      Session 13 – Making meaning and understanding functions of responses

      Session 14 – Ways to reprogram our biological computer

      Session 15 – Introduction to the Core Problem Analysis (CPA)

      Session 16 – Principles of conducting CPA on yourself and with your child

      Session 17 – When the sense of self-love is affected: “I hate myself, I am bad, I am defective”

      Session 18 – Interventions to decrease vulnerabilities in the sense of self-love

      Session 19 – When the sense of safety is affected: “Everybody else is to blame for my troubles”

      Session 20 – Interventions to decrease vulnerabilities in the sense of safety

      Session 21 – When the sense of belonging is affected: “Nobody wants to be friends with me”

      Session 22 – Interventions to decrease vulnerabilities in the sense of belonging

      Session 23 – How core senses interact and

      Session 24 – Putting it all together to help improve relationship with SELF

      What people are saying

      "The metaphors and role-plays were absolutely amazing and will be easy to remember. Fresh examples of how to teach skills to young kids were enormously helpful"

      Anonymous reviewer, 04/08/2018

      "The training was incredibly practical, clear, and informative. The real world examples, scenarios, videos, and tools were most effective for me."

      Anonymous reviewer, 08/10/2021

      "DBT-C is amazing! This content is like gold!"

      Anonymous reviewer, 10/23/21

      Learn more about DBT-C

      For more information about Dialectical Behavior Therapy for Children (DBT-C), here are some blog posts written by Dr. Perepletchikova.

      Understanding Dialectical Behavior Therapy for Children

      Part 1

      Understanding Dialectical Behavior Therapy for Children

      Part 2

      Understanding Dialectical Behavior Therapy for Children

      Part 3

      Frequently asked questions

      Although DBT-C had been developed to target emotional dysregulation and corresponding behavioral discontrol, it has been also evaluated with children who may not have emotional sensitivity and results indicated significant improvements in functioning across various psychiatric conditions.

      DBT-C has been empirically supported for children 7-13 years of age; however, the same principles and procedures are used clinically with children as young as 5 years of age, as well as older adolescents.

      The cost is $80/session and $1,920 USD total for the full course. For full pricing breakdown, see the table above.

      Yes. There is a $720 discount if you purchase Part 1 and Part 2 together. Groups of 3 or more who register at the same time are also eligible for a discount of more than 60% off. For full pricing breakdown, see the table above.

      No. This is an informational course, not therapy, so you cannot use your insurance. 

      You are encouraged to attend live, but we understand that parents are busy. If you missed a session, please contact us at help@childdbt.com.

      Disclaimer

      This course is informational and not therapy. All information gathered during the registration process is confidential. Click here to read the disclaimer and refund policy.

      Registration is open for 2024!

      DBT and DBT-C workshops for parents and therapists are currently open for enrollment for 2024.