Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT)

Dialectical behavior therapy (DBT) is a form of therapy that was initially created to treat individuals suffering from a borderline personality disorder. Today, DBT is used more widely as part of the treatment plan for many people struggling with behavior or emotions that they can’t control, including problems with self-harm, eating disorders and substance abuse. DBT combines Eastern and Western methods and focuses on teaching individuals mindfulness, social effectiveness, emotion regulation and distress tolerance.

Local experts in Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT)

Katherine Chiba, LCSW

Licensed Clinical Social Worker

I have been a DBT therapist for over 15 years. The approach informs all of my work with clients and I integrate skills training into both individual and couples therapy.

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Claire Tam (they/them)

Professional Counselor Associate

MA, Professional Counselor Associate

DBT revolves around the philosophy of balancing opposites- how to find ways to hold two seemingly conflicting perspectives at once. Within the DBT framework, we work towards acceptance and change by integrating the use of mindfulness techniques with emotion regulation and communication skills.

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Cory Anton

Licensed Professional Counselor

Dialectical Behavior Therapy can be very effective at helping you manage overwhelming feelings, irritability, depression and anxiety. If you are struggling with chronic suicidal ideation or self-harm behavior, I can help you learn the DBT skills to weather these emotional storms safely.

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Josie Bilbao Bourke (she/her)

Licensed Clinical Social Worker

LCSW, LICSW

7 years' experience facilitating IOP groups focused on teaching mindfulness and self-compassion practices & DBT skills

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Matt Newey (he/him)

Licensed Professional Counselor

MA, LPC

Trained in the theory, interventions and skills of DBT through nearly 20 hours of continuing education.

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Cary (Lazara) Coll

Licensed Clinical Social Worker

Dialectical Behavior Therapy provides tools that support emotional regulation. For the past 8 years I have facilitated both group and individual therapy utilizing DBT. I will support your journey towards emotional freedom.

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Kitty Kloud (She/They)

Clinical Social Work Associate

MSW, CSWA

Dialectical behavior therapy (DBT) is a modified type of cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT). Its main goals are to teach people how to live in the moment, develop healthy ways to cope with stress, regulate their emotions, and improve their relationships with others. I utilize DBT informed therapy.

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Chynna Springer (she/her)

Licensed Professional Counselor

LMHC, LPC, CADCI

Dialectical Behavior Therapy is a set of skills that are focused on distress tolerance, emotion regulation, and interpersonal effectiveness. These skills also incorporate a mindfulness component.

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Leif Moa-Anderson (He/him)

Licensed Professional Counselor

LPC, LMHC

DBT was born out of CBT and mindfulness, both of which I have studied separately. Getting certified in DBT, thus, seemed natural. I don't do the strict protocols of DBT, which is a group therapy, but I use a lot of the principles frequently.

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Heather Asaadi (she/her)

Licensed Professional Counselor

LPC

Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT) is a combination of mindfulness, CBT, and acknowledging that multiple truths exist at the same time (dialectics). DBT teaches skills focused on being mindful, understanding and regulating your emotions, tolerating distress more skillfully, and increasing effectiveness in interpersonal interactions/relationships. DBT informs my approach and I like to utilize concepts and skills from it with clients, but I am not practicing it to it's full fidelity in sessions.

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Haleigh Yurecko (she/her)

Licensed Clinical Social Worker

LCSW, MSW

I utilize DBT coping skills for interpersonal relationships, distress tolerance, and emotional regulation. Client's have an option of using worksheets for these skills if they would like.

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Liz Ward (they/them)

Marriage and Family Therapist Associate

Marriage and Family Therapist Associate

I am DBT Trained and integrate aspects of DBT into therapy as appropriate. I find DBT helpful in navigating challenges with emotional distress, emotional dysregulation, interpersonal challenges, and foundational skills that can help create a baseline to engage in life from.

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Arielle Ross (they/them)

Licensed Professional Counselor

MA, MPH, LPC

I use DBT skills to teach coping and emotion regulation, mindfulness, & interpersonal effectiveness skills. I've run several DBT skills groups and I love helping people understand what mindfulness is, and how they can use it to slow down when they're in a lot of distress.

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Jacob Curtis (he/him)

Licensed Professional Counselor

MA CADCI NCC LPC

I have had training in Dialectical Behavior Therapy, and have engaged in this therapy practice for a number of years. This therapy approach helps people more effectively manage their emotions while enhancing their interpersonal skills. A core principle of this approach is building mindfulness skills.

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James Whalen (He/Him)

Professional Counselor Associate

R7227

I do not provide the full course of DBT. It's a therapy with a high degree of commitment required from both parties, and therefore would not be appropriate for once-weekly telehealth services. However, there are many skills and concepts in DBT that are broadly applicable, and I bring in these elements when it feels like they would be helpful on an individual basis. These include mindfulness skills, distress tolerance skills, and dialectical concepts.

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THRIVE Clinic

Clinical Psychologist

While we do not offer full-fidelity DBT through the THRIVE clinic, all of our providers are comprehensively trained and concurrently practicing in DBT with our sister clinic, the nationally-renowned Portland DBT institute. This means that intervention offered at THRIVE are augmented by a deep toolbox of DBT skills and are guided by dialectical thinking.

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Latisha Brown (She/Her)

Licensed Professional Counselor

LPC

Dialectical-Behavioral Therapy, or DBT, incorporates CBT with mindfulness, emotion regulation, distress tolerance, and interpersonal skills to manage psychological challenges. The purpose is to embrace awareness, manage your emotions, cope with stressors, and enhance your relationships to improve your well-being.

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Karen Maloney, MA, LPC

Licensed Professional Counselor

I have received an intensive 2 year training in DBT and have led a DBT group. This orientation is incorporated into each session.

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Amanda Roberson (she/her)

Licensed Professional Counselor

DBT nicely expands perspective by providing alternate scenarios through use of dialectics and accompanying skills. Created by Marsha Linehan, this modality offers several coping skills to use in extremely emotional moments. The coping skills fall into the following categories: interpersonal effectiveness, emotion regulation, distress tolerance, and mindfulness.

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Kate Keating (she/her)

Professional Counselor Associate

MA, LPC-A

Because I am interested in self-harm, suicidal ideation, and anxiety as presented in pre-teens and teens, DBT is especially relevant for my practice. I have read various DBT manuals and have attended workshops at the Portland DBT institute.

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Megan Quigley (she / her)

Licensed Clinical Social Worker

MSW, LCSW

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Sasha Strong (they/them)

Licensed Professional Counselor

PhD, LPC

I draw from the DBT toolkit to support clients in developing as full human beings, including the skillsets of core mindfulness, interpersonal effectiveness, emotion regulation, and distress tolerance. During my Master's internship, I trained in trauma-informed DBT and co-facilitated a weekly DBT class. I use DBT skills training with individual clients who find it helpful.

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Jessica Besner (she/they)

Licensed Professional Counselor

LPC, M.S.

Was a focus throughout my early training, co-facilitated several DBT skills groups for adolescents, adults and college students. Continue to integrate DBT skills into sessions. Completed training while living in Vermont.

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Sophie Toolanen (she/her)

Licensed Professional Counselor

MA, LPC

I have been learning , teaching, and applying DBT strategies for over a decade. DBT is particularly effective in treating personality disorders, addiction, self-harm, and mood dysregulation.

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Alyssa Moore (she/her)

Licensed Professional Counselor

LPC

DBT is an evidence-based practice that teaches people a set of skills to help them handle difficult situations, create stronger relationships, get their needs met effectively, and balance reason and emotion. I have been trained in DBT and utilize it often with people who have difficulty managing their emotions, struggle with interpersonal relationships, or engage in self harm or substance abuse.

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Vedalia Zellers (she/they)

Clinical Social Work Associate

MSW, CSWA

When relevant, I may draw on Dialectical Behavior Therapy skills to offer you concrete, practical strategies for coping with difficult situations. I interned with the Portland DBT Institute in 2021-22, where I co-led several therapy groups. Note: I'm not able to offer "full fidelity" DBT, but I might be a fit for clients who have recently graduated from a DBT program and would like some support in continuing to utilize DBT skills.

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Kara Kazemba (she/her)

Licensed Clinical Social Worker

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Laura Patiño (she/her)

Professional Counselor Associate

MA, NCC

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Melissa Owens LPC

Licensed Professional Counselor

I am trained and experienced in traditional DBT therapy, which I have taught to large groups of residents in treatment and also used extensively in individual therapy to work on addictions, emotional reactivity, relationship problems and compulsive behaviors.

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Mark Yeung (He/him)

Licensed Clinical Social Worker

LCSW, MPH

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Amelia Mackle MSEd LPC RYT

Licensed Professional Counselor

I have been integrating the coping skills from Dialectical Behavioral Therapy into practice with all my clients for many years. DBT skills are excellent life skills and can lead us to a more fulfilling life, no matter what life challenges we face.

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Kimberly Zeszutek, LPC (She/Her/Hers)

Licensed Professional Counselor

LPC

I have been trained and supervised by programs specializing in Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT). Within sessions, we discuss mindfulness and skill building to identify and understand emotions, tolerate stress and difficult social interactions. It is my belief that by actively applying DBT strategies, individuals become empowered, and thus more able to create an atmosphere promoting the achievement of personal goals.

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Ben Gulick (he/they)

Licensed Professional Counselor

MA

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Catherine Lazen (she/her)

Licensed Clinical Social Worker

M.Ed, MSW, LCSW

This approach includes transformative skills training to empower people of all ages to regulate their feelings and control their behaviors in ways that promote wellness and success in every aspect of their lives.

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Elyse Beckman (she/her)

Licensed Professional Counselor

LPC, CADC, LMHC, SUDP

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Zara Roth (she/her)

Professional Counselor

M.A., QMHP, CADC, Registered Associate

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Isabel McCune (she/her)

Professional Counselor Associate

MA, MPH, NCC

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Zanita Zody (she/her)

Marriage and Family Therapist

PhD

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Emily Radcliffe (She/Her)

Marriage and Family Therapist

I'm currently working on becoming fully certified as a DBT therapist, but in the meantime I tend to use a lot of DBT skills and tools in my practice. I've had success in implementing DBT to help folx with emotion regulation, developing self compassion, improving relationships and navigating conflict. DBT can be a valuable framework whether it's used in a structured curriculum format or intermixed with other modalities in a more fluid way.

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Elena Logvinenko (she/her)

Psychiatrist

MD

While I don't offer standard DBT in my private practice (since it requires a treatment team and group therapy), DBT heavily influences my therapeutic approach, and I love working with folks who have completed a formal DBT program once they have built up their skills are ready to safely "step down" to a less intensive format (something along the lines of a weekly individual exploratory therapy).

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Brian Pollock (he/him)

Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner

DNP, PMHNP-BC

I received specialized training through Behavioral Tech. I have led DBT groups for many years, and previously I helped develop and launch a DBT program for college students. I have worked as a part of a larger DBT program and have experience with DBT skills training and Consultation Teams.

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Alisha Phillips (She/her)

Licensed Professional Counselor

LPC

I was trained to use the DBT program to work with clients with a range of presenting issues, such as borderline personality disorder, bipolar disorder, depression, and anxiety. In my practice I will use DBT skills and worksheets with clients when useful and appropriate.

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Wes Harris (he, his, him)

Licensed Professional Counselor

LPC, CADC I

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Zach Edmund, LPC (He/Him)

Licensed Professional Counselor

MS, LPC

DBT can be great skills for both kids and adults to learn for emotional regulation.

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Brandon Huffman (he/him)

Professional Counselor Associate

NCC, CADC-I

I have training in DBT which brings an essential component to trauma therapy with emotion regulation and distress tolerance skills.

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Ashley Huddleston

Professional Counselor Associate

MA

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Sarah King (she/her)

Licensed Clinical Social Worker

CCSOT

I have been trained in DBT skill building through the Portland DBT Institute. I utilize this modality throughout my practice with all types of clients, as I find it a very practical tool for living a healthy life.

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