Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) in NYC
Dialectical behavior therapy (DBT) teaches four skills for people whose emotions arrive faster and hotter than insight can manage. It's the gold-standard treatment for emotional dysregulation, self-harm, and borderline personality disorder, with one clinician at our Manhattan practice delivering the skills and managing your medication in a single plan.
- In-person · Manhattan
- Telehealth · New York
Start with an assessment
Short, private check-ins that help you put words to what you're noticing before your first conversation.
Child ADHD
A check on a child's focus, follow-through, and emotional reactions.
Adult ADHD
A check on focus, organization, and follow-through in adults.
Anxiety
A check on worry, tension, and how much they shape your days.
Depression
A check on mood, energy, and interest in everyday life.
Our clinicians are affiliated with
What is DBT and Who Does It Help
Developed by psychologist Marsha Linehan and refined over decades of research, DBT began as a treatment for chronic suicidal behavior and borderline personality disorder. It's now evidence-based for any presentation where emotional intensity, not distorted thinking, is the primary driver. The core idea is dialectical: you accept yourself exactly as you are and commit to building skills that change how you respond. Most talk therapy hands you insight. DBT hands you something you can run when the emotional system is already online.
The skills also help adjacent conditions where intensity is the problem: eating disorders, PTSD, and ADHD with impulse dysregulation.
The short version
- DBT teaches four skill modules (mindfulness, distress tolerance, emotion regulation, and interpersonal effectiveness) that stack into a usable toolkit for high-intensity emotions.
- Originally developed for borderline personality disorder, DBT is now evidence-based for emotional dysregulation, self-harm, eating disorders, and treatment-resistant depression.
- Most patients notice meaningful shifts within 8 to 12 weeks; a full course runs 6 to 12 months, in sessions of 30 to 90 minutes.
- At Integrative Psych, one clinician delivers DBT and manages medication in a single plan, so therapy and prescribing stay coordinated from the start.
You're likely a strong fit
DBT is a skill set, not a vibe. You're likely a strong fit if several of these sound familiar:
- You feel emotions faster, harder, and longer than the people around you.
- Small triggers set off reactions that feel completely out of proportion.
- Your relationships run a "too close, too far" cycle of attachment, distance, and regret.
- You've hurt yourself, or thought about it, for relief when the pain becomes unbearable.
- You send messages you wish you could take back, and the regret doesn't stop the cycle.
- You've gained insight from past therapy, but it didn't change what happens Tuesday at 6 p.m.
The evidence behind DBT
In a landmark trial, people in DBT were about
half as likely to attempt suicideas those treated by other expert clinicians (Linehan et al., Archives of General Psychiatry, 2006)
and emergency visits for high-risk patients (Linehan et al., Archives of General Psychiatry, 2006)
and stabilizing borderline-personality symptoms across most randomized trials (systematic review of RCTs, 2024)
How DBT Works and What to Expect
DBT works through four skill modules. Every patient learns all four because they stack on each other:
Mindfulness
Noticing what's happening without fighting it or getting swept into it. It builds a small window between impulse and action, and that window is where choice lives.
Distress tolerance
What you reach for when the wave is already cresting: temperature change, paced breathing, radical acceptance. These stop an emotional crisis from becoming a life crisis.
Emotion regulation
What you build in the calmer moments so the waves come less often and hit less hard. You learn to label emotions accurately and act opposite to an unjustified urge.
Interpersonal effectiveness
How to ask for what you need and say no to what you don't, keeping both the relationship and your self-respect intact.
In session, the structure is predictable and the content is tailored to your goals. You review a diary card tracking the week's emotional intensity, urges, and skills used; rehearse the specific skill your acuity calls for next; work through whatever is generating the most distress; and leave with a concrete practice plan, because the real change happens between visits. Your clinician weighs the modules to your acuity: distress tolerance and mindfulness first if you're in crisis, interpersonal effectiveness once the acute fires are out. Sessions run 30 to 90 minutes, with validated measures tracking progress throughout.
DBT at Integrative Psych
At Integrative Psych, DBT works best because it's coordinated with the rest of your care. One board-certified clinician delivers your DBT and manages your medication management in a single plan. That matters because the people who need DBT often carry co-occurring depression, anxiety, ADHD, or trauma, and DBT builds on the same structure as CBT. One person teaches the skills, prescribes when it helps, and adjusts both as your case unfolds.
That coordination starts before your first session with the Sigmund Assessment, a structured evaluation your clinician reviews beforehand that maps what's driving your symptoms, so your clinician arrives already understanding your case. It answers the harder question early: is dysregulation standalone, or downstream of an untreated mood disorder, PTSD, or ADHD that needs its own parallel treatment. We then match you on clinical fit and communication style, not the next open slot. The practice houses clinicians affiliated with the National Institutes of Health, Columbia University, and New York-Presbyterian Hospital, and you can explore the research if you want to look deeper. Care is available in person at our Manhattan office and by telehealth anywhere in New York State.
Clinicians who provide DBT
Board-certified psychiatrists and psychiatric nurse practitioners. The practice houses clinicians affiliated with NIH, Columbia, and New York-Presbyterian.
What Patients Say
Insurance and Billing
Integrative Psych is an out-of-network practice. You pay at the time of service and receive a monthly superbill to submit to your insurer for potential out-of-network reimbursement. Many PPO plans reimburse a portion, and your insurer is the best source for what your specific plan covers. To check yours, call the number on your card and ask about out-of-network reimbursement for outpatient psychiatric evaluations, follow-up visits, and therapy.
Billing, simply
- Out-of-network; you pay at the time of service.
- Monthly superbill provided for reimbursement.
- Many PPO plans reimburse a portion of out-of-network care.
- Call the number on your card to confirm your benefits.
Frequently Asked Questions About DBT
How do I know if DBT is the right treatment for me?
DBT fits when your main struggle is emotional intensity, impulsivity, relationship instability, self-harm urges, or chronic emptiness, especially if past therapy gave you insight but not lasting change. It's less of a fit when your symptoms are driven mainly by distorted thinking. Your evaluation confirms whether DBT, CBT, or another approach is the best fit before you start.
What is the difference between DBT and CBT?
CBT restructures distorted thoughts to change feelings and behaviors, and is strongest for anxiety, OCD, and depression driven by rumination. DBT keeps that structure but adds radical acceptance and a dedicated skill set for surviving emotional crises. DBT is the better match when emotions arrive too fast for thought restructuring to keep up, and the two can be combined.
What conditions is DBT most effective for?
DBT has its strongest evidence base for borderline personality disorder, chronic suicidal ideation, self-harm, and emotional dysregulation. It's also effective for eating disorders, substance use, PTSD with significant emotional intensity, and treatment-resistant depression. The common thread is intensity: how fast and how hard emotions hit, not the content of the thoughts behind them.
Do I need a BPD diagnosis to benefit from DBT?
No. DBT was built for borderline personality disorder, but the skills work for anyone whose emotional system runs hotter than average: chronic anxiety, trauma survivors, ADHD with emotional dysregulation, eating disorders, and depression with impulsivity. You don't need a diagnosis to qualify. You need a clinical picture where intensity is the core problem.
Can DBT be combined with medication?
Yes, and often it should be. Your DBT clinician is a board-certified psychiatrist or psychiatric nurse practitioner who can prescribe when it's clinically indicated for co-occurring depression, anxiety, ADHD, PTSD, or bipolar disorder. Because therapy and prescribing come from one clinician in a single plan, the medication can be adjusted around what your skills work is surfacing, and the reverse.
Where can I find DBT therapy near me in NYC?
Our office is at 80 8th Ave in Manhattan, where we offer DBT in person. We also offer it by telehealth anywhere in New York State, and many patients find it easier to practice skills in the environment where they actually live and react.
Start Here
If your emotions arrive too fast for insight to keep up, there's a structured path forward. We'll map what's driving the intensity and match you with the right clinician, one person who can teach the skills, prescribe when it helps, and adjust both as you go. Appointments are in person at our Manhattan office or by telehealth anywhere in New York State.