Acquiring Competency and Achieving Proficiency With Dialectical Behavior Therapy: The Clinician's Guidebook

This book is designed to teach and assist you in increasing your proficiency in using Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT). DBT is a model that was created by Marsha Linehan, Ph.D., at the University of Washington. DBT has been supported in numerous research studies to be effective with high-need, challenging clients such as Borderline Personality Disorders. It is also helpful when treating other personality disorders, significant depression, bipolar disorder, anxiety, addictions, and dual diagnosis difficulties. It is effective when treating both youth and adult clients. While it is useful with severe pathology, it is also a strengths-based model that fosters healthy development, increased life satisfaction, and optimal levels of functioning.

This book explains DBT in a clear and easily understandable way. By reading this book, you will learn about the classic and innovative DBT skills. You will explore how to appeal to learning styles and tailor interventions to attention span. There are many suggestions about how to make learning the skills fun, interesting, and relevant for a variety of clients.

This book focuses on the history, philosophy, dialectics, skills and additional tools, to cement your clinical competency with DBT. In this book you will find many useful ideas, clinical examples, and practice vignettes. Novice and experienced clinicians will enjoy Dr. Moonshine's perspective about DBT and her useful suggestions about how to increase your proficiency with this complicated model.

As a clinician, clinical supervisor, and clinical director, Dr. Moonshine has written a book that will increase your resiliency at work as well as provide you with the tools to increase clients' engagement, retention, goal attainment, increased level of functioning and life satisfaction.

This book will be a valuable resource for years to come in your clinical practice. In addition to this book, there is a companion text, Volume II: The Worksheets, that contains over 150 client worksheets that can be used right away. In the companion text, you will find streamlined diary cards, chain analysis forms, relapse prevention plans, and recovery plans.

Cathy Moonshine, Ph.D., MAC, CADC III, is the Executive Director of a private consulting firm, Moonshine Consulting, as well as assistant professor at the School of Professional Psychology at Pacific University in Portland, Oregon. Dr. Moonshine is an expert trainer, clinical supervisor and clinician. In 2007, Dr. Moonshine created and published a DBT board game, playing cards, bingo, and bonanza dice game.

Dr. Moonshine is largely self-taught in Dialectic Behavior Therapy ("DBT"). She has read many books and professional articles on DBT and has utilized clinical supervision and consultation with colleagues to increase her competency with this model. Dr. Moonshine completed her doctoral education at Pacific Graduate School of Psychology in Palo Alto, CA. She received her Master's from Seattle University and Bachelor's from University of Redlands.

Dr. Moonshine has modified DBT to work with clients, graduate students, supervisees, and in program oversight. Dr. Moonshine focuses on balancing dialectics, being mindfully present, and making use of DBT skills. The DBT skills that Dr. Moonshine utilizes in her work include ones originally created by Dr. Marsha Linehan and /or other authors. Dr. Moonshine has sought to utilize the most successful aspects of the traditional DBT model in combination with her own successful treatment philosophies, patient methods, and teaching skills.

Dr. Moonshine has over 20 years of experience in public and private mental health and substance abuse treatment settings across all levels of care. Dr. Moonshine provides licensure supervision and collegial consultation to mental health, addictions and dual diagnosis clinicians. She works with systems of care and individual clinicians to implement and sustain evidence-based practices. Dr. Moonshine serves as the Clinical Director for nearly 10 years in Portland, Oregon. In addition to Clinical Director duties, Dr. Moonshine continues to make an impact in the local, state and national treatment communities with her consultation, supervision and trainings. Dr. Moonshine is considered an expert in the areas of addictions and dual diagnosis treatment.