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About this training
Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) is often described as a collection of skills, though it is a comprehensive treatment model with defined assumptions, structure, and clinical logic. This 6.5-hour continuing education training focuses on how DBT conceptualizes behavior, therapist role, and treatment priorities, with attention to clinical reasoning, nonjudgmental stance, and decision-making processes.
Through structured instruction and applied clinical examples, participants examine DBT’s organizing principles, including the life worth living treatment aim, the five functions of DBT treatment, the biosocial model, dialectical thinking, consultation-informed therapist stance, and validation as a clinical intervention.​ Participants learn how DBT accounts for therapist fallibility and treatment drift, and how DBT’s stance and decision-making logic supports both acceptance and change.
Schedule
Friday, March 27, 2026
9:00 am - 4:45 pm (6.5 hours of instruction)
Includes two 15-minute breaks and one 45-minute lunch
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Lunch generously sponsored by Clearview Treatment Centers
Who this training is for
Clinicians who:
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​​Work integratively and want DBT to feel structured, but not rigid
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Feel stuck with certain client presentations and want a clearer treatment focus
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Want to reduce judgment and increase clinical precision
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Want stronger case formulation without more complication​​​​
May not be a fit if you:
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Are seeking certification-level comprehensive DBT training
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Need protocol-specific instruction for running a full DBT program
Part 1: How DBT Thinks
Part 1 establishes the clinical foundation for the series by focusing on how DBT conceptualizes clients, behavior, therapist role, and treatment priorities. Rather than emphasizing skills, the training centers on DBT’s stance, organizing principles, and decision-making logic that support clarity and direction in session.
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This training is appropriate for clinicians who are not providing comprehensive DBT and want to practice DBT-informed care with greater confidence, including more intentional decisions on whether or not to make referrals. Part 1 functions as a standalone training and also provides the conceptual foundation for Parts 2 and 3.
This training emphasizes clinical reasoning and the foundation of the DBT model.
After Part 1, you'll be able to:
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Conceptualize clients through a DBT-informed framework
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Translate judgment-based language into functional descriptions
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Identify why treatment stalls without blaming clients or therapists
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Integrate DBT principles to maintain direction
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Apply validation in ways that support change
What's included:
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A curated Part 1 toolkit with DBT-informed worksheets and reference handouts
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Tools designed to support assessment, case formulation, and clinical decision-making
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Materials intended for clinical use within appropriate scope of practice
After this training, participants will be able to:
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Describe the clinical context and treatment challenges that led to the development of Dialectical Behavior Therapy.
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Differentiate comprehensive DBT from DBT-informed care.
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Explain “life worth living” as a treatment orientation beyond symptom reduction.
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Identify the five core functions of DBT treatment and apply them to client cases.
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Translate judgment-based clinical language into functional, behaviorally specific descriptions.
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Explain the DBT assumption that therapist error is inevitable and how the structure supports course-correction.
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Apply the biosocial model to understand patterns of emotion dysregulation.
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Distinguish validation from reassurance, agreement, or permissiveness in clinical interactions.​
Course Learning Objectives:
Continuing Education (CE)
​Target Audience: LMFTs, LCSWs, LPCCs, AMFTs, ACSWs, APCCs
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Making Sense of DBT, Part 1: Principles Structures and Strategies meets the qualifications for 6.5 hours of continuing education credit for LMFTS, LCSWs, LPCCs, and/or LEPs as required by the California Board of Behavioral Sciences.
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Making Sense of DBT, Part 2: Assessment, Targets and Behavioral Change meets the qualifications for 6.5 hours of continuing education credit for LMFTS, LCSWs, LPCCs, and/or LEPs as required by the California Board of Behavioral Sciences.
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Making Sense of DBT, Part 3: Matching Interventions to Targets meets the qualifications for 6.5 hours of continuing education credit for LMFTS, LCSWs, LPCCs, and/or LEPs as required by the California Board of Behavioral Sciences.
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AlignED Care Eating Disorder and Mental Health Center is approved by the California Association of Marriage and Family Therapists to sponsor continuing education activities for LMFTs, LPCCs, and LCSWs. AlignED Care Eating Disorder and Mental Health Center maintains responsibility for the program/course and its content. CAMFT approval number 1032797.
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Participants will receive an email to complete an evaluation of presentations approximately 2 days following the completion of each training. Upon completion of the evaluations, CE certificates will be emailed to the email addressed listed on the evaluation within 1 week of completion of evaluation. Questions regarding this process may be directed to Robyn@Alignedcarecenter.com
