DBT (Dialectical Behavior Therapy)

DBT-Linehan Board of Certification,

Certified DBT Program™

DBT (Dialectical Behavior Therapy) is a proven treatment for suicidal and self-harming adolescents, borderline personality disorder, and individuals who have multiple, complicated and serious mental health conditions. Capital Youth Services practitioners have in-depth training and significant experience offering this specialized service. The DBT program at Capital Youth Services is a DBT-Linehan Board of Certification, Certified DBT Program™.

We provide:

DBT for young adults

DBT-A for adolescents

DBT-C for children

What are the various types of DBT?

Fidelity and adherence matter. There is only one DBT. Standalone skills training is not DBT. DBT “informed” therapy is not DBT. Integrating DBT techniques into other therapies is not DBT. When outcomes matter and symptoms are serious, don’t be misled. Be an educated mental health consumer and insist on a comprehensive DBT done right.

Capital Youth Services offers fully comprehensive DBT as it was designed to be delivered–with all 5 modes: specialized individual therapy, DBT skills group, out-of-session telephone coaching, consultation to the environment, and consultation team. Capital Youth Services has one of the largest concentrations of DBT-Linehan Board Certified clinicians in the Mid-Atlantic region

Our DBT program has been examined and certified by DBT experts. Our certified clinicians have had clinical session tapes reviewed and approved by national DBT experts. The DBT program prioritizes ongoing clinician training, clinician adherence to the treatment manual, and program fidelity. We go the extra mile with accountability, clinician skill development, and focus on outcomes.

Team founder Britt Rathbone is a DBT expert, conducting trainings for providers locally and nationally on the treatment and overseeing an expert in-house treatment team. He is among the first therapists in the world and was the first therapist in the metropolitan DC area to be certified by the DBT-Linehan Board of Certification as a Certified DBT Clinician. This is the only certification approved by the treatment creator and is the gold standard for DBT competency. Other certifications are obtainable solely by attestation and without the rigorous examination, review of clinical competence and expert review of videotaped sessions required by the DBT-Linehan Board of Certification.

Mr. Rathbone is the coauthor of DBT With At-Risk Adolescents: A Practitioner’s Guide to Treating Challenging Behavior Problems (New Harbinger, 2014) and Parenting a Teen Who Has Intense Emotions: DBT Skills to Help Your Teen Navigate Emotional and Behavioral Challenges. Rathbone is a founding member of the Metropolitan Washington DC DBT Consortium.

Additional information about DBT can be found here.

Therapists on the Capital Youth Services DBT-Linehan Board of Certification, Certified DBT Program™ team:

Samantha Ascanio, LCSW-C, (DBT-Linehan Board of Certification Certified DBT Clinician)

Jeannette Campbell Bjorklund, LCSW-C (DBT-Linehan Board of Certification Certified DBT Clinician)

Natalie Collins, LCSW-C

Diana Gomez, LCPC

Katherine Kelly, LMSW

Allie Peterson, LCSW-C

Carly Schreiner, LCSW-C

Brooke Senior, LCSW-C  Director of DBT Adherence

Samantha Steinberg, LCSW-C (DBT-Linehan Board of Certification Certified DBT Clinician)

Leah Wolf, LCSW-C