The Dialectical Behavior Therapy for Adolescents (DBT-A) Program is a comprehensive outpatient program that specializes in identifying and treating depression and risky behaviors in adolescents. These behaviors may include self injury, thinking about or attempting suicide, substance use, binging and purging, risky sexual behavior or physical fighting.
Our program targets five areas:
This treatment has been proven to be effective in treating self-harming adolescents with depression who demonstrate some traits of borderline personality disorder beyond what's expected during typical adolescent development.
Signs of depression in adolescence include depressed or irritable mood, changes in appetite and sleep, withdrawal from and loss of interest in usual activities and friends, feelings of hopelessness and worthlessness, agitation, fatigue, difficulty concentrating, difficulty making decisions and thinking about suicide.
Some traits of borderline personality disorder that concern parents and teens include having an unstable sense of self, unstable relationships with others, inappropriate or uncontrollable anger or other emotions, serious mood swings, recurrent self-harm or suicide attempts, chronic feelings of emptiness and impulsive behavior that puts the teen at risk.
The teens we treat typically have many or all of these problems, which can lead to difficulties fulfilling their obligations in school and at home. This, in turn, perpetuates their negative self-image.
The DBT-A program consists of several components:
You'll need a referral from your child's pediatrician or specialist to make an appointment. Once you have the referral, please call the number below.
Dialectical Behavior Therapy for Adolescents
401 Parnassus Ave.
San Francisco, CA 94143
Phone: (415) 476-7227
Fax: (415) 476-7163
Hours: Monday, Tuesday and Thursday
5:30 – 7:30 p.m.
Last updated December 22, 2009
