Dialectical Behavior Therapy for Adolescents (DBT-A) is an evidence-based therapy for teens ages 14 to 18 needing support in at least three of the following five areas: confusion about self, impulsivity, lack of emotional control, interpersonal problems, and adolescent-family dilemmas.

The length of our program is 12 months. Our program is adherent to the research protocols that established evidence for the treatment's effectiveness and includes the following four components.

• Individual Therapy: An individual therapist at WMI will meet with the teen weekly or twice a week, depending on the adolescent’s needs, for a 50-minute session.

• Multifamily Skills Class: A 90-minute virtual class that meets weekly. The skills cover five areas of learning: mindfulness, distress tolerance, emotion regulation, interpersonal effectiveness, and walking the middle path. The adolescent and one or both caregivers are required to attend each class.

• Phone Coaching: In order to help adolescents and their caregiver(s) generalize the skills they are learning in class to their everyday lives, therapists are available throughout the week for phone coaching. These structured calls last 5-10 minutes and focus on helping to identify and apply the most appropriate skills to a given problem.

• Consultation Team: Our DBT therapists meet weekly for two hours to support each other, discuss cases, and ensure that we offer the most effective DBT possible.