About Dialectical Behavior Therapy & Maple Leaf DBT

In 1998, while working as a therapist in a community mental health clinic in Northgate, I had the opportunity to participate in a year-long training in Dialectical Behavor Therapy (DBT).  DBT is a treatment developed for people who struggle with self-harm and suicidal impulses and who meet criteria for a thing called Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD).  BPD is a condition whose main characteristics include extreme difficulty in regulating mood, intense trouble in relationships, and intense difficulty in tolerating distress.  DBT's treatment developer is Dr. Marsha Linehan, PhD, a professor of psychology at UW.  The treatment has two components: individual therapy and group skills training.  Between 1999 and 2000 I taught my first DBT skills class at the clinic (at the time only one of two available outside of Dr. Linehan's research clinic) where I first learned the therapy.  In 2001 I started Maple Leaf DBT with my good friend and colleague Noelle Mestres, MSW,

LICSW.  It is the first DBT skills class available to the general community in the Seattle area, and it is still running today.  We currently offer two weekly DBT skills classes.  If you would like to read more about DBT, please "ring" the bell to visit our website: