2024-2025 Contextually-Focused Dialectical Behavior Therapy Fellowship

Contextually-Focused Dialectical Behavior Therapy (C-DBT) is a comprehensive treatment approach for individuals struggling with the feeling that they do not matter or belong. Unlike traditional models that view distress as stemming from an underlying disorder, C-DBT frames these behaviors as understandable responses to invalidating, often dehumanizing environments. These environments may be found at various levels, including family, community, or culture. Emotional dysregulation, therefore, is seen as a coping mechanism for the deep need to be acknowledged and recognized. 

The fellowship is designed to familiarize participants with the core components of C-DBT, focusing on function, process, and exposure rather than rigid protocols or skills. Participants will learn how to cultivate an interactional style that empowers clients to break free from automatic, learned responses shaped by their past. By doing so, clients are offered the chance to organize their behavior around a future they envision, rather than being bound by past conditioning.