Dialectical Behavior Therapy teaches the skills that keep an emotional crisis from becoming a self-destructive one. At Taproot Therapy Collective in Hoover, minutes from Birmingham, three DBT-trained clinicians offer DBT-informed individual therapy and the full DBT skills curriculum for adults and teens, and they pair it with the somatic and trauma-processing work that treats what the dysregulation comes from. We are not a comprehensive DBT program, and we'll tell you if that's what you need. In person or by secure video anywhere in Alabama; Blue Cross Blue Shield of Alabama accepted for most clinicians.
What DBT is, and what the research says
Marsha Linehan built DBT at the University of Washington for people whose emotions ran so hot that ordinary therapy failed them, and her 1991 trial was the first therapy shown to reduce self-harm in borderline personality disorder. McMain's 2009 trial and the 2020 Cochrane review confirmed it. The name is the method: acceptance and change held at once, you are doing the best you can, and you have to do better. What matters for a page like this is Linehan's own 2015 component study, which found the skills training is the active ingredient, and Bohus's 2020 trial, which found DBT built onto trauma processing beat standard trauma therapy for complex PTSD after childhood abuse. Skills plus trauma work is exactly what we do.
Comprehensive DBT versus DBT-informed therapy: which we offer
The DBT-Linehan Board of Certification and Behavioral Tech define comprehensive DBT as four modes together: weekly individual therapy, a weekly skills group, phone coaching and a consultation team. That is the standard of care for chronic suicidality and severe borderline personality disorder, and Birmingham has a comprehensive program for it; if that's what your situation needs, we'll say so at intake and refer you. What Taproot offers is DBT-informed individual therapy: the same four skills modules, taught by DBT-trained clinicians, with a diary card and practice between sessions, integrated with somatic therapy, Brainspotting and Lifespan Integration for the history underneath. We don't claim certification we don't hold, and we don't call it comprehensive DBT.
Who DBT-informed therapy is for
Emotions that go from zero to a hundred and stay there. Self-harm and suicidal thinking, with a safety plan and a referral if it's active. Borderline traits. PTSD and complex trauma, where regulation has to come before processing. Adult ADHD with rejection sensitivity and emotional storms, which almost nobody in Birmingham treats with DBT skills. Teenagers in Hoover and Vestavia whose parents need coaching as much as the teen needs skills; a 2021 meta-analysis found adolescent DBT reduced self-harm and suicidal ideation. Recovery, where the feeling behind the using has no other outlet. And overcontrol, the opposite problem, for which we've written about Radically Open DBT.
How it works at Taproot
- 1Free 15-minute intake call
Tell the coordinator what's happening and whether it's for you or your teen; if you need comprehensive DBT, you'll hear that here.
- 2Skills first
Distress tolerance and mindfulness in the first sessions, so you have something that works this week.
- 3Diary card and practice
Skills practiced between sessions and reviewed each week.
- 4Treat the cause
Somatic therapy, Brainspotting or Lifespan Integration for the history behind the dysregulation, so the skills are needed less.
The four DBT modules, and what each one is for
| Module | What it treats | A skill you'll learn |
|---|---|---|
| Mindfulness | Being run by the feeling instead of noticing it | Observe, describe, participate; wise mind |
| Distress tolerance | Crisis behavior: self-harm, using, blowing up | TIPP (temperature, intense exercise, paced breathing), STOP, radical acceptance |
| Emotion regulation | Emotions that go from zero to a hundred | Check the facts, opposite action, PLEASE (body care that lowers vulnerability) |
| Interpersonal effectiveness | Relationships that explode or where you disappear | DEAR MAN, GIVE, FAST |
Is dbt-informed therapy and dbt skills right for me? A 30-second check
DBT-trained therapists in Hoover
Lead clinician; DBT skills with Lifespan Integration and Brainspotting for severe PTSD, complex trauma and clients who have already done years of therapy.
DBT-trained; emotion regulation and distress tolerance with polyvagal therapy and Brainspotting for attachment wounds, adult ADHD and addiction recovery.
DBT-trained for children and teens: self-harm, school refusal, emotional storms, and coaching the parents around them.
Cost, insurance and teletherapy
We accept Blue Cross Blue Shield of Alabama for most clinicians. Private-pay and out-of-network sessions are $250, with an income-based sliding scale, and we send a monthly superbill with the codes your insurer needs for out-of-network reimbursement. Secure video sessions are available anywhere in Alabama on the same sliding scale.
Frequently asked questions
Is this comprehensive DBT?
No, and we say so up front. Comprehensive DBT, as the DBT-Linehan Board of Certification defines it, means four things running together: weekly individual therapy, a weekly skills group, phone coaching between sessions, and a therapist consultation team, usually for about a year. We offer DBT-informed individual therapy and skills training by DBT-trained clinicians, integrated with trauma work. If your situation needs the full program, especially active self-harm that needs phone coaching, we'll tell you on the intake call and refer you to a comprehensive DBT program in Birmingham.
Do DBT skills work without the full program?
The evidence says yes for many people. Linehan's own 2015 component study in JAMA Psychiatry found skills training was the active ingredient of DBT, and a 2015 review of seventeen trials found standalone skills training reduced self-harm, depression and emotion dysregulation. Full DBT remains the standard for chronic suicidality and severe borderline personality disorder.
Who is DBT-informed therapy for at Taproot?
Emotions that go from zero to a hundred. Self-harm or the urge to. Borderline traits. PTSD and complex trauma where the dysregulation has to be treated before processing is safe. Adult ADHD with rejection sensitivity and emotional storms. Teens in crisis. Recovery from addiction where the feeling behind the using has no other outlet.
Do you have a DBT skills group?
Ask the intake coordinator whether a cohort is forming; we run groups when there are enough people for one. Individual DBT-informed therapy is available now, in person and by video anywhere in Alabama.
Start DBT-informed therapy in Hoover or online
Your first call is a free 15-minute conversation with our intake coordinator, who matches you with the right clinician. Our office is off I-65 at the Riverchase exit in Hoover, about ten minutes from Vestavia Hills, Homewood and Mountain Brook and fifteen from downtown Birmingham, with free parking at the door.
Book onlineCall (205) 598-6471