Who is DBT for? People experiencing the following may be appropriate for DBT:

• A diagnosis of borderline personality disorder or bipolar disorder
• A history of chronic suicidal thoughts or behaviors
• A history of self harming behaviors, such as cutting
• Having tried therapy and other treatments with little or no success
• Those who suffer from emotion dysregulation—difficulty with dealing with powerful emotions in a healthy manner

A main component of DBT is to assist clients in learning and implementing coping skills in their lives so that they can successfully increase their satisfaction with life, or as Dr. Linehan puts it, build a life worth living. Skills, which clients learn, are grouped into four different categories: core mindfulness, interpersonal effectiveness, emotion regulation and distress tolerance.
 
DBT is designed to be one year in duration.  Covering all coping skills generally takes six months.  The skills are then covered a second time to assist clients in retaining the information and more fully implementing positive methods of coping and problem solving into their lives
 
DBT is made up of three services: weekly skills groups, individual therapy and phone consultation.
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1. Skills groups are held weekly and are 1 ½ hours long. It is here that the skills are presented and practiced in a group format
2. Individual therapy sessions occur weekly, or more often if the client and therapist agree it is appropriate.  Individual therapy sessions are 45-55 minutes long.
3. Phone consultations are for the times in which clients find themselves in need of additional coaching to successfully apply the skills. Phone consultations are brief (generally no longer than 10-15 minutes) and focus on skills coaching to assist clients in resolving immediate problems.

 
The first step in beginning DBT is to schedule a meeting with members of the DBT team to see if DBT is appropriate for you.
 
Call us to set up your initial appointment with a member of the DBT team:
 
Brian H. Taylor, LMSW
 
Christian Osborn, LMSW

Helpful links

Additional information about DBT can be found here.

DBT's creator, Dr. Marsha Linehan's group Behavioral Tech offers additional information and resources for clients and clinicians. 

Informative videos on DBT can be found here.