Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) is one of the most effective treatments for emotion regulation difficulties. Our goal is to help our clients find a life worth living.
It has been used with both adolescents and adults for the treatment of self-injury, suicidality, personality disorders, substance use, eating disorders, and several other psychological problems.
Our DBT team has completed the Behavioral Tech Official DBT Intensive Training. Further, DBT therapists make a commitment to ongoing education in DBT, other evidence-based treatments, suicide prevention, integrating trauma-based approaches with DBT, and ethics.
We are one of the few local sites that offers the full DBT program, which includes individual therapy (once per week), skills group training (once per week), telephone coaching (as needed), and therapist collaborative consultation.
DBT is ideal for clients with one or more of these emotional experiences:
- Painful emotions from which a person feels there is no escape
- A chronic sense of "feeling nothing"
- Quickly shifting from one emotion to another
- Feeling like emotions are overwhelming, confusing, or controlling your life
- Having problems with anger, anxiety, and depression
In addition, DBT addresses the following difficulties:
- Difficulties in interpersonal relationships
- Living with a sense of emptiness or feeling like you are confused about who you are
- Impulsive behavior, suicide attempts, or self-injury
- Confused or fearful thinking
- Coping with distress through self-harm, eating, substance use, risky sexual behaviors, or avoiding everything
We offer the following DBT programs:
- DBT-C
- For 7—12 year-old children and their parent(s) or caregiver(s) (sometimes siblings can also be included). The program begins with parent skill-building and goal-setting, then includes individual therapy with child and family skills training.
- Goals: To decrease suicidal behavior in children, decrease disruptive behavior in the home, and to help parents and children prioritize goals to improve family relationships
- DBT-A
- For 12-18-year-old adolescents and their parent(s) or caregiver(s).
- The program includes skills for the adolescent and their family to improve family relationships, reduce conflict, and help the adolescent to thrive.
- DBT Standard
- For adult clients who are looking for comprehensive and effective care for problems that have been difficult to treat.
- This program is designed to help adults be more effective at work, school, and/or forming relationships.
- DBT Comprehensive
- Extra support for adult clients who in addition to the above also have addictive or compulsive behaviors that they would like to address in treatment.
Learn more about DBT
Please note: while this video is geared toward using DBT for adolescents, the same formatting and principles of DBT apply to adults, too.
