Our Programs

Standard DBT

Our standard DBT program follows the evidenced-based treatment first developed by Marsha Linehan, Ph.D. While originally created to treat symptoms of borderline personality disorder, standard DBT is helpful for individuals who experience their emotions as being out of control. This type of emotional vulnerability is often referred to as undercontrolled (UC), meaning the individual is lacking effective self-control. This program is for adult clients who, generally, live independently from parents or guardians.

DBT for Adolescents (DBT-A)

Dr. Alec Miller and Dr. Jill Rathus developed an adaptation of DBT to treat emotional instability in adolescents. Our DBT-A program requires participation from both teens and parents. Particularly, the entire family participates in learning DBT skills together, in the form of a weekly multi-family skills class. Adolescents participate on their own in individual therapy sessions, and parents have the option to meet with a separate provider in the collective to establish behavioral strategies (as needed). Adolescents must be willing to participate in the treatment in order to be considered for our DBT-A program. On occasion, we may recommend the DBT-A program for young adult clients who are dependent on or living with parents/guardians.

Equine-Assisted Adolescent DBT (EA-A-DBT)

Equine-Assisted Adolescent DBT (EA-A-DBT) is a unique model that incorporates equines into the skills-training component of adolescent DBT interventions. In EA-A-DBT, adolescents engage in activities such as feeding, grooming, and leading a horse with the supervision of an equine specialist and mental health professional. In this program, adolescents and parents participate separately in skills training groups. For parents, this is held in the form of a parent-only group; for adolescents, this is held in the form of an equine-assisted group with peers. Adolescents also participate in weekly individual therapy, and parents have an opportunity to schedule parent-only sessions as needed. On occasion, we may recommend EA-A-DBT for young adult clients who are dependent on or living with parents/guardians.

Radically Open DBT (RO-DBT)

Dr. Thomas Lynch created a major adaptation of DBT to target emotional overcontrol (OC). OC personality styles are characterized by excessive self-control, often leading to social isolation, inflexibility, poor interpersonal relationships, etc. Research has shown that RO-DBT can effectively treat diagnoses such as anorexia nervosa, chronic depression, and some personality disorders other than borderline personality disorder. Similar to standard DBT, the foundation of RO-DBT is based on behavioral principles, a dialectical philosophy, and skills acquisition. Our RO-DBT program serves adult clients; currently, there is no specific adaptation of RO-DBT for adolescents. To learn more about RO-DBT, please visit the Radically Open website.