Length
2 hour
CE Credit
2.0 Ethics
Recorded
May 15, 2026
This training explores how Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) approaches suicide intervention through direct assessment, behavioral targeting, and skills-based treatment strategies designed to help clients build a life worth living.
Key insights:
There are several ways to learn from this training. You can either watch the recording for free or take the self-paced course for CE credit. We also have the slides available to download.
(Free) You can watch the full recording of this training for free on our YouTube Channel. This is perfect if you’re not seeking CE credit or would like to preview the training before taking the course.
Coming soon!
($37) You can receive 2 hours of self-paced, asynchronous CE credit for this training.
UCEBT is approved by the American Psychological Association to sponsor continuing education for psychologists. UCEBT maintains responsibility for this program and its content.
Additionally, this presentation is approved for 2 hours of ethics home-study CE credit through UPA, NASW-UT, UAMFT, and UMHCA.
Follow along with the recording by downloading the presentation slides personal use.
However, please note that no part of the materials available through the Utah Center for Evidence Based Treatment may be copied, photocopied, reproduced, translated or reduced to any electronic medium or machine-readable form, in whole or in part, without prior written consent of the presenter and creator of the presentation. Contact info@ucebt.com for questions.
Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) is an evidence-based treatment designed to reduce self-injurious behaviors, decrease suicide risk, and enhance skillful behavior. This presentation will explore the role of dialectical behavior therapy principles throughout a suicidal patient’s intake/consult, early treatment phase, and later intervention course. Discussion will include use of measurement tools to assess suicide risk, as well as therapeutic strategies used to orient a suicidal patient’s behavior toward a life worth living. As with all clinical interventions, attendees should be thoughtful about applying DBT skills and strategies without appropriate training and supervision.
Learning Objectives:
Describe elements of the Linehan Risk Assessment and Management Protocol (LRAMP) and other effective measurement tools used in the assessment of suicide risk.
Identify relevant points of suicide assessment throughout the course of treatment, in accordance with the Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) model.
Identify three DBT strategies used toward suicide prevention in the course of treatment.
Kimberly Applewhite, Psy.D., School-Clinical Child Psychology. Kimberly is the Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT) Program Director at UCEBT. She has received Foundational DBT training in the standard DBT model, as well as extensive training in Dialectical Behavior Therapy for Children.
Carmel, A., Templeton, E., Sorenson, S., & Logvinenko, E. (2018). Using the Linehan Risk Assessment and Management Protocol with a chronically suicidal patient: A case report. Cognitive and Behavioral Practice, 25(4). doi.org/10.1016/j.cbpra.2018.02.001
CDC (2025). Suicide Statistics and Facts. Retrieved from CDC.gov: https://www.cdc.gov/suicide/facts/data.html
Chioqueta, A.P. & Stiles, T.C. (2004). Assessing suicide risk in cluster C personality disorders. Crisis, 25(3). https://doi.org/10.1027/0227-5910.25.3.128
Dervic, K., Grunebaum, M. F., Burke, A. K., Mann, J. J., & Oquendo, M. A. (2007). Cluster C Personality Disorders in Major Depressive Episodes: The Relationship Between Hostility and Suicidal Behavior. Archives of Suicide Research, 11(1), 83–90. https://doi.org/10.1080/13811110600992928
Kothgassner, O. D., Goreis, A., Robinson, K., Huscsava, M. M., Schmahl, C., & Plener, P. L. (2021). Efficacy of dialectical behavior therapy for adolescent self-harm and suicidal ideation: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Psychological Medicine, 51(7), 1057–1067. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0033291721001355
Linehan, M.M., Armstrong, H.E., Suarez, A., Allmon, D., & Heard, H.L. (1991). Cognitive-behavioral treatment of chronically parasuidical borderline patients. Archives of General Psychiatry, 48(12), 1060-1064. doi: 10.1001/archpsyc.1991.01810360024003.
McMain, S. F., Guimond, T., Barnhart, R., Habinski, L., & Streiner, D. L. (2017). A randomized trial of brief dialectical behaviour therapy skills training in suicidal patients suffering from borderline disorder. Acta psychiatrica Scandinavica, 135(2), 138–148. https://doi.org/10.1111/acps.12664.
McCauley, E., Berk, M. S., Asarnow, J. R., Adrian, M., Cohen, J., Korslund, K., Avina, C., Hughes, J., Harned, M., Gallop, R., & Linehan, M. M. (2018). Efficacy of Dialectical Behavior Therapy for Adolescents at High Risk for Suicide: A Randomized Clinical Trial. JAMA psychiatry, 75(8), 777–785
National Institute of Mental Health (2026). Suicide. Retrieved from nimh.nih.gov: https://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/statistics/suicide
Stone DM, Cammack AL, Carbone EG. Notes from the Field: Differences in Suicide Rates, by Race and Ethnicity and Age Group — United States, 2018–2023. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep 2025;74:550–553. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.15585/mmwr.mm7435a2
Trevor Project (2024). 2024 U.S. National Survey on the Mental Health of LGBTQ+ Young People. Retrieved from TrevorProject.org: https://www.thetrevorproject.org/survey-2024/
Utah Department of Health and Human Services (2026). Complete Health Indicator Report of Suicide. Retrieved from Public Health Indicator Based Information System (IBIS): https://ibis.utah.gov/ibisph-view/indicator/complete_profile/SuicDth.html
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