The DBT Clinic — Counselor in Portland, OR

Their website indicates they are accepting new patients but good luck trying to reach anyone. I have filled out the online form multiple times, I have sent multiple emails, and I have left multiple messages and still zero follow-up. That’s fine if you’re too busy to accept new patients, just shoot a quick email and say so, or update your website and remove the online form.

This is both an incredibly supportive clinic and an incredibly empowering one. With this special network of people, I am learning how to recognize my internal responses I wish to shift ,while simultaneously cultivating skills to create a more peaceful , comfortable life. I’m so grateful to have these folks to lean on when I need and learn new skills that strengthen my life. The staff are highly compassionate and skilled people.

My therapist is fantastic!! I have seen her for a year now and have really benefited from it. DBT has been great for my adhd executive dysfunction as well emotionally regulation and coping skills for my Autism and ptsd. I highly recommend this clinic and DBT therapy. Ive been in therapy since I was a child and felt like normal therapy wasnt helping since Ive already processed a lot of my childhood truama. This is a great option for poeple with self awareness that need more then reassurance or talk therapy. They teach great skills that help set healthy boundaries.

I absolutely recommend the DBT Clinic for anyone seeking guidance and support! Even though it's a busy clinic, they were able to match me with a therapist within a couple weeks. They can accommodate patients, like me, who prefer in-person sessions. The office is comfortable and inviting! Heidi is highly skilled and thoughtful therapist! I really enjoyed my time talking with her. I also want to shout out to Randy Brown, the practice manager. They went above and beyond to help me sort out a complication with my insurance. Not only were they patient with me while we worked it out, they also provided valuable information that saved me a ton of anguish. The people at the DBT Clinic are considerate and eager to help, so I hope anyone needing help reaches out to them today!

My daughter went here and had a wonderful therapist . She made some great progress, Katie was personable and relatable for my teen. We had been through others and my daughter could not connect with them. Anyone who isn’t familiar with DBT and how it works should be aware that it is redundant, and it works if you put in the work inside therapy room and outside . This isn’t talk therapy, it’s based off a very specific model that builds skills off one another. So you can’t just “skip” stuff that isn’t vibing. It’s meant to push out outside your comfort zone to build a new way of living because the old ways and patterns were not healthy.

I’ve been trying to see someone since Feb and I keep being put on the “list” each month. Its now June. Are they truly this busy or are they just racist/classist because I mentioned I preferred(but not deal breaker) a bipoc person who has dealt with homelessness? The person I corresponded with(Elliot Watson)via email has given me no explanation or follow through. Seems to me they either have a clientele they prefer or are just mismanaged. Ima tell my primary care to stop recommending this spot!

i personally had a really poor, honestly borderline traumatic experience there. my therapists were very strictly by the book, to a point where therapy felt impersonal. when a particular skill wasn’t for me, instead of moving on to finding something more effective, my therapists insisted that there was something wrong with me, because “this is scientifically proven to work like this!” and assign the same skill over and over again, until eventually they got frustrated with me enough to move onto something else. my personal therapist and my psychiatrist knew that meds have had poor impacts on my mental and physical health yet continually pushed me to take them, until i was worn down and vulnerable enough to agree to take them, and low and behold both meds i tried had side effects that i’m still dealing with 9 months later. i felt and still do feel very coerced and manipulated into doing that and i am still so frustrated that my autonomy was disrespected repeatedly to get me to do something that myself and my care team knew were bad for me. they also tried to coerce me into in patient and out patient, despite having faced lots of abuse in patient and very clearly not having the skills, support, or resources to be able to do an out patient program. eventually my therapist essentially soft dropped me, and repeatedly lied to me about another program to get me out of her office. i would stead clear of this place, but if you get Katie as a therapist, RUN.

I had to edit my review because after the best counselor and treatment I've ever had left this clinic, the manager of the clinic refused to find me an alternative provider, which constitutes malpractice. Unfortunately this is incredibly harmful and a violation of clinical ethics as outlined by the APA's code of conduct (which is adopted by Oregon as the state's code of conduct). They also refused to speak with me at all about this, saying that they would upload a "letter" when I already had a business meeting during the single time slot they offered to "discuss my options" but they never wrote or shared such a letter. I had been asking to get on a waiting list since I learned the counselor was moving on, and they have refused to do that or even make a referral despite having plenty of time to take action and despite the ethical and regulatory guidelines explicitly compelling a provider to ensure a discharged patient has continued care. They didn't even say that I was discharged or communicate with me whatsoever, my former therapist just left and Larry the owner and manager refused to communicate with me.

I am benefiting a lot from the full-fidelity program and from the DBT model as a whole. MV is a helpful therapist and a great fit for me. I feel understood, supported, and empowered. LS, my skills group instructor, has also been a helpful resource. I’ve been in the full-fidelity program for about 2 months, seeing my individual therapist once per week and my skills group once per week. I didn’t have to wait very long to enter the full program. Most programs have waitlists, but I was able to start within a few weeks of meeting with my individual therapist and ensuring it was a good fit. Depending on how busy the practice is, your mileage may vary. DBT is able to address a wide variety of common mental health issues. It’s not just for BPD anymore. Do your own research on the model and see if you think it might benefit you. The “end goal” is “a life worth living”, and I feel like it is helping me toward that goal.

Excellent DBT program. Helped me eliminate certain target behaviors. Do not give up hope - the right treatment can help. All the negative responses missed the rationale of DBT skills group. DBT skills group as I understand it is psycho-educational group therapy. Yes, may sound like a textbook because IT'S SUPPOSED TO BE! I encourage you to try learning from a book while waiting for an opening in the program. I personally had no success even with 2 different DBT-informed therapists. If you think the program sounds expensive, I was never charged for waking up my coach occasionally at odd hours like 4 am. An ER visit is typically equal to or more than "100's of dollars" and Crisis Lines are hit or miss for me. Yes, Trainable Monkey is my real name ... online.