Dialectical behavior therapy (DBT) was developed by Marsha Linehan, first for chronically suicidal clients with borderline personality disorder. The standard model combines individual therapy and a skills group, phone coaching and a consultation team for the therapists.
Primary sources: Linehan Institute: what is DBT and DBT skills, DBT-LBC: clinician certification requirements
We give you information and answer for how we select it. Check terms, prices and dates with the organiser.
We do not run courses. Each programme has a link to the organiser and a check date.
Behavioral Tech, USA
Two live remote parts of 30 instructional hours each, normally six months to a year apart. It is built for teams of 3 to 8 clinicians who meet weekly, and each team works with an assigned DBT consultant between the parts.
Behavioral Tech, USA
Twenty pre-recorded modules with 30 instructor-led hours plus reading and homework, quizzes in each module and a final exam. It is meant for individual therapists and skills trainers on an established DBT team who have not done the Intensive.
Behavioral Tech, USA
A live workshop of 20 modules and 30 hours over 5 days, on site or remote, for people who want to deliver DBT skills training with fidelity. The same catalog lists shorter skills courses and courses for adolescents and substance use.
DBT-Linehan Board of Certification
A certification, not a training. The applicant documents 40 hours of DBT-specific training, three completed Stage I cases and 12 months on a weekly consultation team, then passes an exam at a testing center and submits session recordings.
Channel: DBT®-Linehan Board of Certification · Checked: November 1, 2026
A recorded panel of certified clinicians and board volunteers, first made for the ISITDBT virtual conference in 2020. It explains clinician certification, program certification and volunteering, and answers frequent questions on each.
0:00Introductions3:04Clinician Certification33:17Program Certification55:46Volunteering with DBT-LBCChannel: DBT®-Linehan Board of Certification · Checked: November 1, 2026
An open meeting where two certified clinicians share their experience of the certification exam and answer questions about training requirements, the consultation team, the case write-up and the mindfulness requirement.
0:05Exam tips and strategies4:40New and old skills manual editions8:05Is there a study guide?15:12Specific training requirements17:21Must team members be certified?20:24Is the 12-month team requirement consecutive?21:24Does Behavioral Tech Foundational Training meet the training requirement?30:46Completed cases write-up37:10Mindfulness application requirement42:22Advice on the exam and on failingChannel: DBT®-Linehan Board of Certification · Checked: November 1, 2026
The board's first open meeting on certification: two certified clinicians explain why they pursued it and answer questions on the process, including licensure for clinicians outside North America and how to prepare for the exam.
0:03Introductions and reasons to get certified4:15Mindfulness requirements6:47Independent licensure outside North America11:15How to study for the exam15:25Asking clients to record sessions24:07Training requirements27:05The three-cases requirement34:51Recording guidelines37:35If you do not pass49:10Mentor programsChannel: DBT®-Linehan Board of Certification · Checked: November 1, 2026
The president of the certification board talks with Michaela Swales, the new president of the World DBT Association, about how the association grew from Marsha Linehan's wish for a global organization, and about its mission, structure and plans.
Open on YouTube ↗Practitioner registries, training standards, conferences. The links go to official sites; the descriptions are ours.
international
A DBT training institute for clinicians and teams, founded in 1997. It runs intensive, foundational and skills trainings, consultation and preparation for DBT-LBC certification, and lists international affiliates by country.
international
An independent nonprofit that certifies individual clinicians and programs on their DBT competence. Its site sets out the requirements, which accept training hours from any training organization, and its YouTube channel holds recorded town halls on certification.
USA
A US nonprofit built around Marsha Linehan's work. Its site has her biography and published work, a page on DBT and the four skills modules, and sections on training, research and assessments.
international
An association that grew from Marsha Linehan's request for an international organization connecting people who deliver DBT, formalized as a nonprofit in 2022. Its site has sections on regional chapters, committees (including training and standards) and events.
Short scales to see the starting level and change over time. They are screening, not a diagnosis.
DERS-16Emotions
MSI-BPDPersonality
Many tests can be sent to a client as a link (a button on the test page), and the result comes to your email. If answers show signs of risk, the test shows help lines.
Standard DBT is usually learned as a team: the Behavioral Tech Intensive is built for teams of 3 to 8 who meet at least weekly, in two 30-hour parts with consultation between them. If certification is the goal, DBT-LBC asks for at least 40 hours of DBT-specific training and accepts any training organization.
DBT is described as a form of cognitive behavioral treatment, but it was built for chronically suicidal clients with borderline personality disorder. Besides individual therapy it includes a skills group in four modules, phone coaching and a consultation team for the therapists.
Our catalog links two scales to the DBT approach: DERS-16 covers difficulties with emotion regulation, and MSI-BPD screens for features of borderline personality disorder. Both are on our site and can be sent to a client as a link; a score is not a diagnosis.
A licensed independent practitioner with a graduate degree in a mental health field, at least 40 hours of DBT-specific training, three completed Stage I cases, 12 months on a weekly consultation team, a mindfulness requirement, an exam at a testing center and session recordings, which currently must be in English.
An assistant for your practice. Sessio takes care of your notes, client history, schedule and website.
See how it works