Therapies · DBT · Phoenixville · Philadelphia · Avondale
DBT skills groups run inside our PHP and IOP at Phoenixville, Center City Philadelphia and Avondale, and in virtual IOP anywhere in Pennsylvania.
If emotions arrive at full volume and using is how you turn them down, DBT gives you a different set of tools — practiced in small groups and in two individual sessions a week.
Dialectical behavior therapy was developed for people whose emotions escalate fast, land hard and take a long time to come back down. It teaches concrete skills in four areas: mindfulness, distress tolerance, emotion regulation and interpersonal effectiveness.[1]
The "dialectic" is the balance the whole model rests on: you are doing the best you can right now, and some things still have to change. Both are true.
For addiction, distress tolerance is usually the entry point. Cravings and emotional spikes are survivable events with a beginning and an end, and there are skills that get you through the twenty minutes that matter.
We deliver DBT as a skills curriculum inside our programs rather than as a standalone comprehensive DBT program — if you need full adherent DBT with phone coaching, we will say so during your assessment and help you find it.
Clinically reviewed by Andrea Kiotis, MA, LPC, CAADC — Clinical Director.
Last updated:
Skills are taught in group, rehearsed with your individual therapist twice a week, and then tried out at home between sessions.
Noticing what is happening without immediately acting on it — the skill everything else depends on, and the one our mindfulness interventions reinforce daily.
Getting through a craving, a fight or a panic wave without making it worse: paced breathing, cold water, intense exercise in our on-site gym, and a written crisis plan.
Naming emotions accurately, reducing vulnerability through sleep, food and movement, and acting opposite to an urge when the urge is not in your interest.
Asking for what you need and saying no without burning the relationship — critical with family, partners and employers in early recovery.
A simple daily log of urges, emotions and skills used, so patterns become visible instead of theoretical.
Walking backwards through an incident link by link to find the point where a skill could have changed the outcome.
Want to know if DBT is right for you?
Call (610) 233-4342Choose the right schedule
Start with the support you need now, then step down as recovery becomes more stable.
About 6 hours a day · 5 days a week
Our most structured outpatient level of care, with a full clinical day at our Phoenixville, Philadelphia or Avondale office while you continue living at home.
Explore our PHP program →9–15 hours a week · Day or evening
A flexible in-person schedule for people who need substantial addiction treatment while balancing work, school, family or a step down from PHP.
Explore our IOP program →Secure online care · Statewide access
Clinically appropriate Pennsylvania residents can join structured groups and therapy from home without traveling to one of our three offices.
Explore our statewide virtual IOP →DBT skills are the right fit when the problem is not information but intensity — you know what you should do and the feeling wins anyway.
DBT has strong research support for reducing self-harm, suicidal behavior and emotional dysregulation, and adapted versions have been studied specifically for substance use disorders.[1][2]
It is listed by SAMHSA among the evidence-based approaches appropriate for people with co-occurring mental health and substance use conditions.[2]
In our program DBT skills sit alongside CBT, trauma therapy and psychiatric care, so the emotional side and the behavioral side get treated in the same building by people who talk to each other.
Because groups are capped at five to seven people, skills get practiced out loud rather than read off a slide.
Want to know if DBT is right for you?
Call (610) 233-4342We track every client from admission to discharge with the BARC-10 recovery capital scale and the PHQ-9 / GAD-7 mental health screens. These are our own program results.
53%
of clients complete our PHP and IOP programs — vs. a national average near 26% for similar outpatient programs.
+9
point average gain on the BARC-10 recovery capital scale from admission to discharge.
-5.95
point average drop in combined PHQ-9 / GAD-7 anxiety and depression scores during treatment.
2215 Kimberton Road, Phoenixville, PA 19460
Serving Phoenixville, Kimberton, Royersford, Collegeville, Spring City, Pottstown, King of Prussia, Norristown, Malvern, Exton, Downingtown and West Chester.
Learn about our Phoenixville office →1026 Winter Street, Philadelphia, PA 19107
Serving Center City, Chinatown, Washington Square West, Rittenhouse, South Philadelphia, Fishtown, Northern Liberties, University City and the Main Line.
Learn about our Philadelphia office →1284 Gap Newport Pike, Avondale, PA 19311
Serving Avondale, Kennett Square, West Grove, Oxford, Landenberg, Coatesville and the Route 41 corridor of southern Chester County.
Learn about our Avondale office →In person at Phoenixville, Center City Philadelphia and Avondale, and by virtual IOP for clinically appropriate clients anywhere in Pennsylvania.
DBT is one part of a treatment plan built around you. These are the other approaches your therapist may combine with it.
The backbone of our groups and individual sessions — mapping triggers, thoughts and behavior.
Learn more about CBT — Cognitive Behavioral Therapy →Trauma reprocessing for the memories driving cravings, panic and nightmares.
Learn more about EMDR Therapy →Present-focused group model for PTSD and substance use, treated at the same time.
Learn more about Seeking Safety →Brain-based training for focus, sleep and nervous-system regulation in early recovery.
Learn more about Neurofeedback →Two one-on-one sessions a week with your own therapist — not one a month.
Learn more about Individual Therapy →Small process groups of five to seven people, so you actually get time to talk.
Learn more about Group Therapy →Insurance accepted
Don't see your plan? Call (610) 233-4342 — we'll check your benefits.
Need detox or inpatient first?
If you need medical detox or a residential stay before outpatient care, call us — we'll help coordinate placement with trusted partners and plan your step-down into our PHP or IOP when you're ready.
We deliver the DBT skills curriculum inside our PHP and IOP with individual therapy twice a week. Comprehensive adherent DBT — including 24/7 phone coaching and a consultation team — is a separate model, and we will tell you honestly at assessment if that is what you need.
CBT focuses on the thoughts and behaviors in a chain. DBT adds a skills toolkit for surviving intense emotion and improving relationships. Most of our clients get both.
No. DBT skills help anyone whose emotions escalate quickly, regardless of diagnosis.
Yes — our virtual IOP includes skills groups and individual sessions for clinically appropriate Pennsylvania residents.
It is delivered within our PHP and IOP levels of care, which most major plans cover. Call (610) 233-4342 to have your benefits checked.
Want to know if DBT is right for you?
Call (610) 233-4342Citations link to the original government and research sources. This page is educational and is not medical advice.
Confidential assessment, insurance verified quickly, and small groups where skills are actually practiced. Our phones are answered 24/7.