DBT House & Emotional Skills Groups / GRP1146
House Group: The Relationship Room — Shared Pattern Map
Draft a small request and a listening response for an ordinary interaction, then identify a negotiation limit.
25 minutes · 3–12 people · Adults with trained group facilitation
Facilitator PDF · Fillable participant PDF · Open activity / add to session
UNDERSTAND THE IDEA
A skills map is a metaphor, not a test.
The DBT House can organize values, coping, boundaries, emotions, and supports in a visual structure. Participants choose what the rooms mean. Colors, omissions, or placement do not establish a diagnosis, trauma history, or level of safety.
Facilitation lens: Connect one area to a practical skill and let the participant define its meaning. Offer a garden, apartment, or another metaphor if a house does not fit.
Explore the conceptual background · Broad background, not validation of this original exercise.
Try a different interactive experience in the Activity Lab →
Fictional example
Riley asks a housemate for clearer notice about visitors.
Open with choice — 3 minutes
Explain the purpose, privacy limits, and the option to observe, use fiction, adapt, or pass. Check access needs and group readiness; do not promise absolute confidentiality.
Meet the fictional case — 4 minutes
Riley asks a housemate for clearer notice about visitors. Ask what is known, what is assumed, and what the person in the case wants.
Practice: Mapping — 11 minutes
Draft a small request and a listening response for an ordinary interaction, then identify a negotiation limit. Each person privately maps the fictional case. Offer optional contributions to a shared map, then compare where context, access, and support change the picture. Do not interpret another person's map.
Reflect and compare — 4 minutes
How can clarity and respect for both people's choices coexist? Ask what fits, what does not, and what external conditions or supports affect the options. No personal disclosure is required.
Close and integrate — 3 minutes
Invite an optional observation, support request, or small next step. Passing is welcome. Agree how to revisit questions and seek appropriate help outside the exercise.
Practice output
A map with at least two possible support or choice points.
Scope and adaptation
Use fictional or ordinary examples, consent, accessibility adaptations, and passing. Original educational group facilitation; not a complete treatment protocol. Do not interpret drawings or require personal disclosure. The house is an optional organizing metaphor, not an official standardized DBT instrument, safety assessment, or comprehensive DBT.
Offer reading aloud, typing, drawing, pointing, or observation. Avoid mandatory movement, eye contact, touch, and body focus.
Original AI-assisted educational draft; independent clinical review pending.
Conceptual background
References inform broad principles and do not validate or endorse this original plan.