It is important that during the 10-year period of accreditation we know of any changes that occur so you will be asked to submit an annual declaration for Maintenance of Accreditation (MAC). The Maintenance of Accreditation (MAC) declaration will come in the form of an email to you, which you will need to respond to within a given time frame. We will begin to collect this information from January 2020. It will state that you:
Have paid your annual SFDBT membership fee
- Continue with your regular mindfulness practice
- Attend and participate in weekly consultation team meetings
- Confirm you have had no professional misconduct
- Provide any changes to name, address, email or other contact information as well as any changes to your initial accreditation documentation
- Provide a record of 15 hours of Continuing Professional Development you have undertaken in the last year. This can take a wide variety of formats including:
1. Courses/workshops/ on DBT-related topics e.g. mindfulness approaches, retreat, evidence based treatment for anxiety disorders, Behavioural approaches, CBT, CFT, or ACT approaches
2. Attendance at conferences e.g. the SfDBT annual conference
3. Supervision with an accredited/accreditable DBT practitioner.
4. Personal reading on DBT and DBT related topics
5. Providing adherent DBT training/workshops
6. Research and/or research publications on DBT and DBT related topics
7. Book publications on DBT and DBT related topics
In any year, time may be spent in one activity only. However you will need a balance of taught components (i.e. activities 1-3) and self-directed learning (i.e. activities 4-7) over the ten-year period. Details, including details of trainers, will need to be provided. In-house training is acceptable as long as the trainers are accredited/accreditable in the approach they are teaching. You can contact us to check if your activities would meet this requirement or if you foresee any problem with meeting this e.g. due to maternity leave or long term sick leave. The BOA would consider any such cases on an individual basis.
It is worth noting that SFDBT provide bursaries for carrying out research and to attend DBT relevant training that you can apply for. Please see the website for details www.sfdbt.org
The Maintenance of Accreditation (MAC) declaration will come in the form of an email to you, which you will need to respond to within a given time frame. We will begin to collect this information from January 2020.
Q. What are the requirements for DBT supervision for accreditation?
An individual applying for supervision must have at least 10 hours of digital recording of their individual therapy sessions reviewed by their supervisor.
If a person is receiving individual supervision they will need to “meet” with their supervisor for a minimum of 10 hours to receive feedback on the 10 hours of digital recordings submitted. So the minimum requirement for supervision is 20 hours of which 10 hours consist of the supervisor viewing the digital recording.
If a person is having supervision with their consult or in another group context, then a person needs to “meet in the group” to receive supervision from their supervisor for a minimum of 20 hours. In this case, supervision will focus on feedback to the therapist on the 10 hours of reviewed digital recordings and potentially other issues in the raised by the team.
Q: How do I choose a DBT supervisor?
Either find someone who is accredited or who can demonstrate evidence of the following criteria:
- Completed DBT training equivalent of 70 hours of face to face training in DBT from a trainer who has met the criteria for accreditation; the curriculum for the 70 hours must cover the theory and practice described in the Linehan manuals.
- Has undertaken 450 hours of DBT study which includes 225 hours of DBT clinical time.
- Has undertaken mindfulness training outside of DBT.
- Has provided all functions and modes of DBT relevant to your treatment setting for a minimum of 2 years.
- Has provided both 1:1 DBT for 2 years/ or 4 clients and taught all four modules of DBT skills training at least twice.
- Has attended DBT consult weekly for two years.
- Has received a minimum of two days of supervision training in a CBT model
Please note that if your supervisor is working privately, we recommend that your supervisor has relevant professional insurance.
Q: Is it required that my team leader who signs my application for accreditation is an SfDBT Accredited therapist?
No, it is not required that your team leader is accredited. The form that the team leader is asked to sign requires that they provide some information about their own training.
Q. If I am the DBT Team leader, who do I get to sign the form?
If there is an accredited DBT therapist in your team you would ask them. Otherwise you can ask a DBT therapist to sign your form who has been regularly attending your consult and knows you well enough to accurately attest to the items that require confirmation on the form.
Q: Do I have to pay for the entire accreditation application at once?
No, it is possible to pay for each part of the application as you submit it. Thus you can pay for the accreditation application in three instalments. Payments are to made by BACs with your name as the reference.
Q: What happens if part of my application is not deemed up to standard?
You will receive feedback from the reviewers and an opportunity to resubmit that piece of the application within a specified time-frame. If it is your sessions that are deemed non-adherence there may be an additional fee incurred for review of additional tapes.
Once you receive feedback on your application, you may resubmit one time at no extra cost (case formulations and chains) and if it is still deemed not up to standard, you will need to start the application process over again.
Q: What are the steps for Programme Accreditation?
There is currently no process for Clinical Programme Accreditation. However, the SfDBT in the accordance with the Linehan Board of Certification has adopted this guidance, which will likely be encompassed by any future Clinical Programme Accreditation standards.
We know that accredited programmes must have:
- team leaders that are accredited DBT Therapists
- provide all functions and modes of DBT
Guidance on team accreditation for adaptions of DBT will come later.
It is advisable that teams considering applying for accreditation start gathering evidence about their service’s provision of all function and modes and of team member’s attendance at consultation team meetings.
Q: What is the SfDBT’s Board of Accreditation’s Policy on Confidentiality when transferring clinical material?
Here is a link to the Policy on Confidential Information .
Q: Can I accredit with the Linehan Board of Certification (LBC)?
It is possible to apply for accreditation (called certification) with the Linehan Board of Certification and then apply to the SfDBT for international affiliate status. While the SfDBT accreditation process has been modeled on the LBC process, over time the LBC has changed their three part process. At present, the LBC has the same stage 1 application, stage 2 is an exam that one must take in a testing centre in the USA, and stage 3 is the submission of three consecutive recordings of individual sessions. The application for certification with the LBC is $690.