The committee’s mission is to provide the most thorough, relevant and reliable review of comprehensive DBT programs available in the world, to educate and support DBT programs who seek to provide treatment with fidelity, to support clients to understand and recognize comprehensive programs (and find them), and to educate and engage DBT clinicians who wish to understand DBT programs at a fundamental level.
This committee’s work began prior to LBC’s establishment, with founding members working directly with Marsha Linehan to identify core DBT program elements and develop tools for teams to evaluate their own DBT program implementation. As planning on the establishment of Linehan Board of Certification (LBC) began, the workgroup established the standards, review and reporting procedures, and materials to allow LBC to certify programs. The workgroup has developed all materials to support program certification, including forms, policies and procedures manuals, training materials for reviewers, and communication standards for interacting with team lead applicants.
This workgroup meets monthly for 90 minutes, with additional working sessions scheduled as needed for specific projects. Workgroup leaders meet additionally each month with Executive Team members to plan workgroup meetings, review and discuss issues regarding program certification, report to the Board, and provide updates in other meetings as requested. New workgroup members must be members in good standing of LBC-certified teams to join, and each has completed program reviews as a reviewer.
Many workgroup members have in excess of 8 years on the committee, and report that it has given them a much deeper understanding of DBT and how functions and structure of programs inform one another. They report that workgroup meetings offer unique access to regular, deep-dive discussions of the treatment principles and practices included in Linehan’s groundbreaking research studies, and the evolution of practice in the changing world of treatment delivery and inclusiveness.
