This year’s Mental Health Awareness Week (13–19th May) invites us to explore the theme of Community. How we build it, how we nurture it, and how it supports mental wellbeing. Having recently co-facilitated a Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT) group, the theme couldn’t feel more relevant or timely.
Over 13 weeks, from November 2024 to February 2025, I had the privilege of co-leading a DBT group alongside my colleague Georgina. During that time, I witnessed the steady formation of a community one built on validation, shared experience, and the courage it takes to keep showing up, especially when things are hard and when you feel like you just don’t want to be there.
On reflection, I’m reminded of something I often overlook, both personally and professionally: the DBT group reminded me that community isn’t only about who we’re with it’s also about how we relate to each other. It’s how we support one another through difficult moments, how we listen, how we hold space, and how trust is built over time through consistency and care.
I’ll admit, I had my own feelings of anxiety about how the group would come together. Some of the clients were hesitant in those early sessions understandably anxious, unsure about what to expect, and uncertain whether they belonged. But with gentle encouragement and consistent support from Georgina and me, things began to shift. Over the first few weeks, clients settled. They became more open with one another, taking small but meaningful steps to share their experiences and emotions.
I saw our clients’ willingness to learn, to try new things, and to return the next week even when using the skills outside of group hadn’t gone exactly to plan. These acts of showing up, trying again, and being vulnerable helped build connection and trust.
A couple of examples that stood out for me, showing the group’s community spirit, included the group’s guiding mantra, which we introduced in the very first session: “Everyone is doing the best they can.” Over time, I truly believe the group began to embody this idea trying to live it, and communicating it to one another through their words, actions, and presence.
Another moment that stood out was during the breaks, when I noticed clients spending time together, engaging in casual conversation, and supporting each other. This informal connection was a powerful reminder of the community that was forming a space where individuals supported each other in the structured.
Other examples of the group’s community spirit included how each member truly listened to one another, remaining non-judgemental and offering constructive feedback rooted in shared experience and empathy. Rather than telling someone what they should do, group members responded by identifying with what was shared and gently offering their own perspective. It created an atmosphere of mutual respect, where everyone’s voice was valued.
By the end of the 13 weeks, the group clients and facilitators alike had become a small community. Through that, I saw glimpses of the Interpersonal Effectiveness DBT skill in action a living model of what it means to be respected and supported by others.
What is it about DBT and the group that formed a community of support?
DBT is often described, like CBT, as a skills-based approach to treating mental health conditions. What sets DBT apart is its focus on balancing change with acceptance, taught through four key modules:
- Mindfulness – staying present and grounded in the moment,
- Distress Tolerance – surviving crises without making the situation worse,
- Emotion Regulation – understanding and managing intense emotions,
- Interpersonal Effectiveness – building and maintaining healthy relationships.
While these sound like practical tools (and they are), they also speak to deeper needs: the need to feel in control, to be understood, to connect, and to manage relationships in healthier ways.
Community as a Healing Force
DBT is grounded in relationships. It acknowledges that many people who experience long-term emotional distress have also experienced invalidation, rejection, or trauma often within relationships or systems meant to support them. DBT offers something different: safety, structure, and compassion.
Mental Health Awareness Week reminds us that mental health is not just an individual issue its collective. We heal in community. We recover through connection.
The group I co-facilitated became a place where clients could risk being seen without fear of judgment. A place where someone’s difficult day was met with kindness, not dismissal. A place where trying and struggling was welcomed, not penalised.
That kind of space doesn’t just support learning it fosters healing.
Small Moments, Big Impact
Some of the most powerful parts of the group weren’t in the teaching, but in the moments between:
- A nod of empathy from one participant to another,
- Someone gently reminding a peer of a skill when they were stuck,
- The collective celebration when someone used a DBT tool in a tough real-life moment.
These moments may seem small, but they are how community is built through presence, encouragement, and the shared belief that change is possible.
For many of the group members, this may have been one of the first times they experienced that kind of connection. For me, it was a powerful reminder that community needs to be safe, consistent, and human.
Moving Forward with Intention
As we mark Mental Health Awareness Week 2025, I’m holding onto what this group taught me—not just about DBT, but about people, resilience, and the kind of community we can co-create when we choose to show up for one another.
No matter our role within PBH whether we’re staff, service users, or simply people who care this week is a reminder that we all have a part to play in shaping communities where people feel safe, supported, and seen.
Because when people experience community, they begin to believe that change is possible. And when that happens, healing doesn’t just occur it grows.
