ABSTRACT

DBT organizes the treatment of clients with complex, multiple psychological and behavioural problems into a series of stages based upon the behaviours’ severity. In the treatment manual Linehan (1993a) first described three stages of treatment: pre-treatment, Stage 1 and Stage 2. She later added Stages 3 and 4 and described how a staged approach to treatment may apply to clients with problems other than BPD (Linehan, 1999). This staged approach clarifies for clients and therapists the order in which they will treat the clients’ problems. Each stage of treatment has a particular goal, and treatment targets within that stage directly address the achievement of the goal. Thus far, DBT describes only the pre-treatment stage and Stage 1 in detail. Chapter 15 discusses pre-treatment further.