DBT Therapy in Beverly Hills and Online Across CA
Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT)
What is DBT?
Evidence-based therapy for managing intense emotions, tumultuous relationships, low self-esteem, and difficulties in living that have not been helped by traditional talk therapy.
DBT is a structured, well-researched treatment that helps people who struggle with intense emotions and dysregulation. At the heart of DBT is the idea that two things can be true at once: you’re doing the best you can, and you still have the capacity to grow and change. Many clients come to DBT feeling stuck. They may intellectually understand what’s happening, but still struggle to respond differently in the moment. DBT helped clients define goals that make their lives worth living and build emotion regulation and relationship management skills to support their pursuit of those goals.
DBT builds on the foundation of cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) by integrating mindfulness practices inspired by Eastern philosophies. This allows therapy to focus on building awareness, acceptance, and compassion toward yourself, in addition to changing thoughts and behaviors. The result is an approach that is practical, research-based, and deeply grounded in both clinical science and ancient wisdom.
DBT offers a structured, supportive path toward building the skills needed to tolerate distress, manage emotions, and navigate relationships more effectively. Clients walk away from therapy with practical tools and the confidence to implement them in alignment with their values.
This approach is especially helpful for people navigating: suicidal ideation and self-harm, chronic anxiety or depression, intense emotions and mood swings, disordered eating, behavioral and substance addictions, impulsivity, relationship instability, and low self-esteem.
DBT Offerings
Comprehensive DBT
Comprehensive DBT is the gold-standard treatment for adults and teens who experience intense emotions, relationship instability, chronic patterns that feel hard to change, suicidality, or self-harm urges.
Adult program (ages 18+):
We will meet for an initial session to discuss your goals for therapy and how DBT could help you. From there, we will move into pretreatment - these are four sessions that are meant to give you a lot of information about DBT and a feel for what it is like to work with me, so that you and I both feel confident committing to working together. Research shows DBT to be most effective when done for 12-24 months, though you and I will discuss what feels like the best fit for you. Most clients complete at least 6 months of the program (so that you complete the full skills curriculum).
The adults program includes: Individual therapy, DBT skills group (or individual sessions if you’d prefer), and access to phone coaching.
Teen Program (ages 13-17)
I meet with you and your teen for an initial assessment to discuss treatment goals and answer questions you have about DBT. After that, your teen will do 4 sessions of pretreatment to learn more about DBT and about working with me before diving into the program, which includes parent participation in parent skills sessions. Most teens and their families do one full year of DBT (getting you through the skills curriculum two full times) before scaling back to just individual therapy.
The teen program includes: Individual therapy, DBT skills group (or individual sessions if you’d prefer), parent skills sessions (so that parents learn the same skills as their teens and have DBT-informed support for responding to challenging behavior) and access to phone coaching for both teens and parents.
DBT Skills Training
Individual DBT Skills Training
For those seeking a personalized skills training experience, I offer one-on-one DBT skills sessions. We use the standard DBT skills manual, but hone in on the skills most relevant to you, at a pace that works for you.
Scheduled at your convenience
DBT Skills Group
For adults already in therapy but seeking a structured format in which to learn DBT skills, I offer DBT skills groups as an adjunctive service to your existing treatment. We cover the 4 DBT skills modules: Mindfulness, Distress Tolerance, Emotion Regulation, and Interpersonal Effectiveness.
Inquire for availability
DBT-Informed Individual Therapy
DBT-informed therapy blends DBT principles and skills with insight-oriented talk therapy. It is flexible and tailored for people who want structure and emotional support without committing to a full program.
This approach can be ideal if you want to:
Build emotional regulation skills
Strengthen boundaries and communication
Reduce anxiety, shame, or self-criticism
Understand your patterns with more clarity and kindness