DBT therapist Directory FAQ and Instructions for applicants
TADBiT seeks to provide information that will serve our community with DBT therapists who are committed to effective outcomes in therapy in the Linehan model. This page provides instructions and a link to the application form for therapists who wish to join the TADBiT DBT Therapist Directory.
Instructions
Therapists meeting the criteria for listing (see the “Five Functions” below) may apply to join the directory by completing this Google form at any time during the year. The directory is updated every 4-6 months after new applications have been reviewed.
Currently listed therapists can maintain participation in the Directory by completing this Google Form. This form ensures current information and confirms active participation on a DBT team. The form takes about 10-20 minutes to complete.
Welcome!
We have expanded the directory of DBT therapists and resources in the Triangle to include providers throughout North Carolina. You will find the DBT Therapist Directory on our Triangle Area DBT (TADBIT) website: triangleareadbt.com. You are invited to submit your application for inclusion in the Directory. This list will serve as a resource for potential clients, their families and providers in the community. We will include DBT therapists who are actively engaged in DBT Consultation or Training Teams, who have completed a DBT 10-Day Intensive Training or a 2-Day / 5-Day Foundational Training (Linehan model), and who are committed to providing comprehensive, Linehan model of DBT treatment (see the Five Functions below). Respected training organizations and individuals committed to preparing clinicians to deliver DBT with fidelity to the Linehan model are listed here.
We are committed to maintaining the website to ensure its usefulness for consumers and professionals, as well as health and educational organizations. Hopefully, this directory will help all of us in identifying DBT services in North Carolina. Please feel free to share this invitation with your DBT colleagues across the state of North Carolina.
In the last year, triangleareadbt.com has averaged over 500 unique visitors per month in 2015 to over 1000/month in 2024. We are eager to share your information with the Triangle community and throughout the state!
Sincerely, The TADBiT Leadership Team
Co-Directors: Martha Golden, PsyD and John Mader, LMFT; Director of Technology: Sammy Banawan, PhD; Director of Referrals: Noreen Esposito, EdD, PMHNP; Founding Directors/Directors Emeritus: Meggan Moorhead, EdD and Norma Safransky, MD
Past Directors: Jill Compton, PhD, 2013-2018; Eric Gadol, PhD, 2013-2018
FAQ
What is TADBiT?
Triangle Area DBT, or TADBiT, is a cooperative network of clinicians in the Triangle Area who are trained in Dialectical Behavior Therapy. Meggan Moorhead and Norma Safransky founded TADBiT in 1996 with the goal of promoting the use of Dialectical Behavior Therapy to treat disorders of emotion regulation in the Triangle area (Raleigh, Durham, Chapel Hill, and surrounding counties).
TADBiT seeks:
· to promote comprehensive, evidence-based DBT individual therapy, skills groups, consult teams, education and training to the community,
· to build and maintain effective, respectful relationships with those we serve and with our colleagues in behavioral healthcare and education,
· to respect the values and principles of DBT and promote the integrity of DBT in its complete form as an evidence-based practice of the Linehan model.
Do I need to commit to doing DBT with all of my clients?
No. It is not expected that therapists exclusively provide DBT with everyone they serve in their practice. There are certainly other effective evidence-based treatments. The TADBiT Directory lists providers who can and are committed to doing comprehensive DBT (all five functions) when that is indicated.
What if I can’t find a DBT team to join?
We have a list of intensively trained DBT therapists who can be contracted to come to your site and provide leadership/training to your team.
I don’t have the introductory training yet, when will the next TADBiT introductory trainings be offered?
Check www.triangleareadbt.com/dbt-training-opportunities-for-providers/ for the latest scheduled trainings.
And why do I need the introductory training in DBT?
Many find DBT very challenging to learn with its detailed application of the principles of dialectics, behaviorism, validation, mindfulness, and structured treatment of target behaviors. Each of these can be a course in itself! There is so much to learn and its easy to lose the forest for the trees.
The Introductory Training in DBT (Linehan model) is designed to provide a sense of the "forest," how to think dialectically while paying attention to the context, function and reinforcers of behavior in a validating way, encouraging mindfulness as a way of being and a way of intervening with target behaviors (often in ourselves, as well as our clients). Therapists use this to decide if they want to pursue further training in DBT and to join a DBT Team.
What are the Five Functions of DBT?
The TADBiT Therapist Directory will assist consumers with finding a therapist who provides Dialectical Behavior Therapy in the Linehan model with comprehensive behavioral treatment that serves five functions.
· First, DBT therapists help enhance the capabilities of their clients who lack needed behavioral skills.
· Second, DBT therapists help enhance the motivation by reducing or removing factors that detract from therapy success and increasing reinforcement of effective behaviors.
· Third, DBT therapists also reinforce generalization of skillful behaviors to the relevant needs of their clients' daily lives, at home and at work or school.
· Fourth, DBT therapists work with their clients to structure the client’s environment and intervene in their world in ways that effectively address the target behaviors.
· Fifth, DBT serves the function of enhancing therapist capabilities and motivation to decrease therapist burnout and increase the chances of therapy being successful.
To accomplish these five functions, DBT uses five modes: skills training group, individual therapy, telephone coaching of skills, and therapist consultation teams. When appropriate, agency/school collaboration, family interventions, and family therapy/skills training are used.