Modality
Dialectical behavior therapy (DBT)
Also called: DBT.
Short definition
DBT is a therapy originally built for people with intense emotional struggles, now widely used for complex trauma, addiction, and eating disorders.
DBT was created by Marsha Linehan at the University of Washington in the late 1980s. It blends CBT with mindfulness and organizes around a core tension: accepting yourself as you are while also working to change. The skills curriculum covers four areas (mindfulness, distress tolerance, emotion regulation, and interpersonal effectiveness), taught in groups and reinforced in individual sessions and phone coaching.
The full DBT protocol runs about a year: weekly individual therapy, weekly group skills training, between-session phone coaching, and a therapist consultation team. Residential programs usually deliver a compressed version with the same skills but a shorter timeline and longer daily sessions. For guests dealing with intense emotions, complex trauma, or self-harm, having DBT-trained staff is a real differentiator.
As with CBT, training depth matters. Clinicians certified through Linehan's Behavioral Tech program tend to get better results than therapists who only did a weekend workshop.