ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses implementing Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) for adolescents in outpatient settings, including community mental health agencies and private practice settings. In some ways, implementation of DBT in community mental health settings is easier than private practice because there are often fewer limitations with regard to billing. Mindfulness is by far the most important skill in DBT, as it underlies all of the other skills. A. L. Miller et al. developed Walking the Middle Path as a skills module to specifically address the parent-child relationship. There are three main skills taught in this module: dialectics, validation, and behaviorism. The Ways of Coping Checklist is another very common formal assessment in DBT, and includes scales on skills use, general dysfunctional coping, and blaming others. New staff members can be trained by the team leader, or other team members who have had an extensive amount of DBT training and experience.
