DBT Skills Frequently Asked Questions

DBT Skills runs over 6 weeks (around 15 hours total) and is self-paced. You don't need to be online at a specific time! You’ll have access to:

• Beautifully produced video lessons featuring Marsha Linehan, Alec Miller and Elizabeth Dexter-Mazza.

• Therapy demonstrations of individual, family, and group skills sessions

• Downloadable handouts you can keep

• Interactive discussion forum where you can ask questions and share insights with peers and expert trainers. 

• Your free downloadable DBT skills textbooks - DBT Skills Training Manual and DBT Skills Training Handouts and Worksheets, valued at $119 USD.

You’ll have 12 months of access to all course materials. You can revisit the content anytime during that period to review key concepts, refresh your understanding, or rewatch demonstrations as you apply the skills in your clinical work.

You’ll learn the four core DBT skills modules—Mindfulness, Emotion Regulation, Interpersonal Effectiveness, and Distress Tolerance—and how to teach and use them confidently with clients. The course takes you deeper into the theory and research behind each skill and shows you how to apply them flexibly in both individual and group settings.

Through expert teaching, role plays, and therapy demonstrations, you’ll see how DBT skills support clients in building lives they experience as worth living. You’ll also be guided in developing your own voice and style in teaching and integrating these skills into your work.

DBT Skills is for mental health and health professionals, as well as coaches and educators who want practical, evidence-based tools for a wide range of client presentations.

These are life skills that can be taught flexibly and integrated across different therapeutic approaches and settings. Clinicians use them to support clients with challenges such as emotion dysregulation, depression, ADHD, eating disorders, substance use, and more.

No. This course is an ideal starting point if you’re new to DBT. It focuses on the core skills—Mindfulness, Emotion Regulation, Interpersonal Effectiveness, and Distress Tolerance—which you can integrate into your existing clinical work or use within a full DBT program. It is also helpful for experienced DBT clinicians who want to refresh their skills and strengthen their understanding of how skills training supports effective treatment.

This course focuses on the core DBT skills themselves. You’ll learn how to teach and use Mindfulness, Emotion Regulation, Interpersonal Effectiveness, and Distress Tolerance with clients. It does not cover the full DBT treatment model, including the structure, modes, or protocols required for comprehensive DBT. It’s a helpful place to begin if you’re new to DBT or want to incorporate DBT-informed skills into your existing clinical work.

Yes. DBT skills can be integrated with a range of therapeutic approaches. You can incorporate mindfulness, emotion regulation, distress tolerance, and interpersonal effectiveness strategies into CBT, ACT, or other frameworks to support clients in managing emotions and engaging more effectively in the work. These skills complement your existing approach by helping clients stay present, regulate emotions, and respond more effectively in the moment.

DBT skills help clients who experience intense emotions or impulsive behaviours, and they’re widely used for challenges such as emotional overwhelm, depression and anxiety symptoms, shame, anger, and relationship conflict. These skills give clients practical ways to manage emotions, tolerate distress, and communicate more effectively.

15 CE/CME Credits are available for DBT Skills. View the Learner Notification for DBT Skills to see the boards and jurisdictions, learning objectives and speaker disclosures. 

If you need to pay the admin fee to add CE/CME credits for DBT Skills, click here.