The Society for Dialectical Behaviour Therapy has been set up in the UK as a professional organisation for Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT) practitioners and for those who are interested in furthering the development of DBT as an evidence-based treatment.
The organisation has developed in response to a call from the growing number of DBT therapists in the UK and Ireland to create a membership organisation capable of protecting the interests of patients and representing the interests of therapists.
We seek to ensure that DBT is provided in a safe, ethical, professional and accountable manner.
On the website you will find information about the Aims of the Society, Therapist Resources and the classes of membership. In addition, the Society, in affiliation with the Linehan Board of Certification, accredits therapists in DBT and you will find information about this process on the website.
Additionally, the SfDBT accredits training programmes in DBT and would like to congratulate the Post Graduate Diploma in DBT at Bangor University for receiving Level 3 course accreditation and the North Wales Clinical Doctoral Programme in Psychology for receiving Level 1 course accreditation in September 2022. We would encourage any course providing training in DBT to apply for course accreditation. Please see the accreditation page for details on how this accreditation applies for graduates of these programmes.
This is SFDBT position on Anti-Discriminatory Practice:
Therapists assess their own competencies in anti-discrimination prior to beginning treatment with clients or as soon as possible once they enter the therapeutic relationship. This is advised for work with clients of any identity and background, and is absolutely necessary for working with any marginalised clients, using the ADDRESSING Framework; Age and generational influences, Developmental or other Disability, Religion and spirituality, Ethnic and racial identity, Socioeconomic status, Sexual orientation, Indigenous heritage, National origin, and Gender (Hays, P. A. (2001). Addressing Cultural Complexities in Practice: A Framework for Clinicians and Counselors. Washington, D. C.: American Psychological Association). SfDBT members will make every reasonable effort to increase their competencies in anti-discrimination, including but not limited to: engaging in consultative discussion, openly receiving feedback from others about discriminatory behaviours, completing self-reflective exercises (ie see ADDRESSING Framework) about diverse-related issues, attitudes and beliefs, increasing diverse specific knowledge through educational activities, completing homework assigned by consultation team members in order to foster growth in specific anti-discriminatory competencies, and making repairs to team members and/or clients when discriminatory behaviour is identified (Pierson, A., Arunagiri, V., & Bond, D. (2021, January 12). “You Didn’t Cause Racism, and You Have to Solve it Anyways”: Antiracist Adaptations to Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) for White Therapists). SfDBT therapists are encouraged to share their self-evaluation of competencies in anti-discrimination with consultation team members, in order to facilitate effective team support for therapists’ growth in this competency area.
The International Association for DBT
We’re excited to announce the formation of the International Association for DBT (IADBT). During the past 3 years, over 30 international DBT experts have been convening to ensure Marsha’s legacy lived on once she retired with regard to ongoing DBT treatment development, training and research.
This temporary steering committee recently created the IADBT as a guiding umbrella organization for the many regional organizations that have formed worldwide, like SfDBT, ISITDBT (US) and others.
Please find a more detailed description about what IADBT plans to do in the materials we are distributing. Stay tuned for more information about IADBT membership and the range of benefits in early 2021.