Best Questions to Ask a DBT Therapist

1. "Do you offer comprehensive DBT or DBT-informed therapy?"

Best for: Knowing what model you are getting

Comprehensive DBT, as described by the University of Washington's Behavioral Research and Therapy Clinics (Marsha Linehan's research clinic), combines four modes: individual therapy, a skills training group, phone coaching, and a therapist consultation team. DBT-informed therapy uses DBT skills and strategies without all four modes. Both are legitimate; a good therapist will tell you plainly which one they offer and why.

• Follow-up: "Which of the four modes do you provide, and which would I need to find elsewhere?"

2. "Are you on a DBT consultation team, and how often does it meet?"

Best for: Checking the least visible part of DBT

The consultation team is often described as therapy for the therapists: a regular meeting where DBT clinicians review cases and help one another stay effective and adherent. Clients never see it, which is why it is easy to skip. The DBT-Linehan Board of Certification lists current participation on a DBT team that meets weekly among its eligibility requirements for clinician certification.

3. "Is there a skills group, and how does it connect to my individual sessions?"

Best for: Understanding how skills get taught

In standard DBT, skills are taught in a weekly class-style group and applied in individual therapy. Ask how long the curriculum runs, whether you can join mid-cycle, and whether your individual therapist knows what you are covering in group. Behavioral Research and Therapy Clinics describes the full skills curriculum as taking about 24 weeks, often repeated to make a one-year program.

4. "Do you offer phone coaching between sessions? What are the limits?"

Best for: Getting help using skills in the moment

Phone coaching is meant to help you use skills in the moment you need them, not to replace sessions or serve as crisis response. Ask when you can reach the therapist, by call or text, how quickly they typically respond, and what you should do outside those hours. If phone coaching is not offered, ask how you are expected to get help applying skills between sessions.

5. "Will I use a diary card, and what do we do with it?"

Best for: Knowing how sessions are structured

A diary card is a daily log of emotions, urges, target behaviors and skills used. In standard DBT, the therapist reviews it at the start of individual sessions to set the agenda, with the highest-priority targets first. Ask whether you will use paper or an app, and what happens if you forget to fill it in.

6. "What DBT training have you completed? Are you certified?"

Best for: Checking depth of training

Ask where and how the therapist trained, for example a multi-day intensive, supervised case experience, or ongoing consultation. Certification is voluntary. The DBT-Linehan Board of Certification (DBT-LBC), a nonprofit, certifies individual clinicians and programs; its clinician requirements include an independent license, at least 40 didactic hours of DBT training, completed Stage 1 cases with clients in concurrent skills groups, weekly team participation, a work product review and an exam. You can search its directory of certified clinicians and programs on the DBT-LBC website.

Many well-trained DBT clinicians are not board-certified, so a "no" is not a red flag by itself. It is a prompt for the next question: what training do you have instead?

7. "How do you handle suicidal urges and self-harm?"

Best for: Anyone with a history of self-harm or suicidal thinking

DBT puts life-threatening behavior at the top of its treatment priorities, followed by behaviors that interfere with therapy and then quality-of-life problems. Ask how the therapist assesses risk, whether you will build a written safety plan together, and what happens if risk rises beyond what outpatient care can handle. A clear, unflustered answer is a good sign.

8. "How do you treat trauma? Do you offer DBT PE?"

Best for: People with PTSD alongside self-harm or emotion dysregulation

The DBT Prolonged Exposure protocol (DBT PE), developed by Melanie Harned, integrates trauma-focused exposure into DBT for high-risk clients. According to the DBT PE developers, clients typically need to be free of suicidal and non-suicidal self-injury for two months in outpatient settings before starting the protocol. Ask whether the therapist is trained in DBT PE, and if not, how and when trauma would be addressed.

9. "For my teen: how are parents involved?"

Best for: Parents of adolescents

Adolescent DBT, as adapted by Alec Miller, Jill Rathus and Marsha Linehan, adds a family dimension. The Title IV-E Prevention Services Clearinghouse describes it as including a multifamily skills group, between-session coaching for adolescents and family members, and optional family and parent training sessions. Ask whether parents attend group, whether parents can get coaching, and how confidentiality works between you and your teen. A randomized trial of DBT for adolescents at high risk for suicide (McCauley et al., JAMA Psychiatry, 2018) included weekly individual and group therapy, therapist consultation and parent contact as needed.

Our list of DBT skills for parents of teens covers what parents usually learn.

10. "How long will treatment last, and what does it cost across all the pieces?"

Best for: Planning time and budget

Comprehensive DBT is a significant commitment: individual sessions plus a weekly group, often for six months to a year. Ask for the fee for each mode, whether the practice is in or out of network, and whether it provides superbills for reimbursement. Adding group and individual costs together at the start avoids surprises later.

11. "What will you ask me to commit to?"

Best for: Avoiding surprises in the first weeks

DBT usually begins with a pre-treatment or orientation phase where client and therapist agree on goals and commitments, such as attending group, completing diary cards and working on reducing target behaviors. Ask what those agreements are and what happens if you miss group or sessions. Knowing the expectations upfront makes them much easier to keep.