Dialectical Behavior Therapy in Clinical Practice: Applications across Disorders and Settings [Hardcover]

I am a clinician with 14 years of experience successfully applying Dialectical Behavior Therapy with many, many clients in a variety of settings. This long-awaited book is very welcome, as it is written by many of the leaders in DBT who have made thoughtful, adherent modifications to standard DBT so that it can be used with a variety of clients and in a variety of clinical settings. Each of the clinicians contributing to this text outlines the specifics of their adaptations, saving the rest of us the trouble of "reinventing the wheel." Thank you so much for compiling such a wealth of information from so many accomplished clinicians! Beverly Long, PsyD, Licensed Psychologist

Any clinician working in an inpatient, outpatient, residential, or ACT team who sees adults, adolescents or families and who is looking to consider implementing a research-proven treatment that works will find something helpful to guide them in this book. Having worked in DBT since the mid-1990's, I can see how this book would have helped me immensely to look at what to consider when starting or adapting a DBT program. Thanks for a useful guide full of insights from the experts in each of these areas. I knew Linda and Kelly were working on this book for a while and couldn't wait to see what all the experts they were able to bring together could contribute to a compilation like this. They have pulled together the best. Very useful.

If I had my druthers (which I rarely do, but let's say I did), I'd have the therapist on the doorstep of training for this "Cadillac" meta-therapy read Dimeff & Koerner -before- moving on to Linehan's -Cognitive-Behavioral Treatment of Borderline Personality Disorder-. That'll seem odd to the rigid linearist, of course, but here's my argument: Linehan's original text was published 16 years ago. A lot has happened since then. And a good deal of what has happened is right here in these 375 odd pages.

-DBT in CP- is not strictly a how-to, though it is that. It's a guide to the -application- of Linehan's empirically proven combination of psychodynamic, behavioral and cognitive therapies, every bit as much as it is a revelation of what has been accomplished with DBT since it hit the bricks in the early `90s.

(DBT is, after all, the "bomb" at the current moment, and unless or until the addition of data from the neuropsychological school either moves DBT "up" a few more notches or replaces it with something better - which is tough to believe, and I am -not- a certified DBT therapist, by the way -- -DBT in CP- is the state-of-the-art-as-it-is-(almost)-now.)

Okay; off my soapbox for DBT as what everyone -ought- to be doing out there in therapyland, and onto why you ought to plunk down your forty odd bucks:

Dimeff and Koerner have assembled a platoon of pretty experienced people and they have compelled them to write to a tight format just why, when, where, what and how (in pretty much that order) DBT is useful for group inpatient, incarceration, co-morbid substance abuse, eating disorder, family support, adolescent, older adult, and community mental health end usage. This makes -DBT for CP- a fine reference for employing Linehan's original "manual" across a variety of typical treatment settings.

But it does quite a bit more than that. The authors of each of the sections have very often provided pretty much all the evidence and process needed to transform the moribund TAU or even ACT program into something solidly proven to be really effective with the difficult-to-treat, borderline-organized patient.

I had read Linehan's book for school some years ago, and I found her system to be impressive, cohesive and comprehensive but overly scripted and restrictive. I wonder how many other experienced therapists have reacted similarly. Had I read D&K -first-, however, I think I would have viewed Linehan's book as something like The Grail (although I am pretty IRT-based and think there's a lot that's missing from her rather strictly defined and oddly mnemonic approach... and think I understand -why-).

That said, the experienced therapist with an open mind will pick up a lot from a cruise through -DBT in CP-, and not in the least, a very solid review of core behavior modification principles with a nice client-centered overlay. The interpersonal, psychodynamic and/or "games theory" practitioner will probably find it useful, and the CBT / REBT therapist who hasn't read it is really missing a major opportunity to hone his or her case management skills.