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We help people build the lives they want to live
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Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT) is evidence-based psychotherapy for people who struggle with intense emotions. DBT covers mindfulness, emotional regulation, distress tolerance, and interpersonal effectiveness.
DBT was first developed to help people with borderline personality disorder (BPD). It is an effective therapy for people with substance use, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and complex PTSD, depression, intense anxiety, eating disorders, and sucidal or self-harm behaviours.
Dialectical means "the existence of opposites." DBT teaches us to balance two opposite strategies: acceptance and change. Your experience and struggles are valid and accepted, but you can also make positive changes to manage your emotions and move forward.
DBT can help you understand, change, and cope with intense emotions more effectively, so that you can build a life that you feel is worth living.
The Ontario DBT Centre is a specialized mental health clinic that provides a comprehensive DBT program for adults (18+).
The clinic is led by Dr. Nathalie Lovasz and is made up of a caring team of highly-trained DBT therapists.
In addition to providing therapy, we prioritize DBT training and consultation to teach other mental health professionals how to provide DBT and increase access for everyone.
We offer online DBT therapy across Ontario and in-person therapy at our downtown Toronto clinic.
If you are looking for DBT treatment and are located in the GTA, Kingston, Ottawa, Hamilton, London, Sudbury, Windsor, Thunder Bay, or anywhere else in Ontario - please don't hesitate to contact us.
DBT might be able to help you, if you have ever experienced any of the following:
○ You have intense emotions, such as anger, shame, or sadness, that change quickly and last for a long time.
○ Your emotions feel overwhelming and out of control, and are having a negative effect on your life.
○ Your emotions cause you to act impulsively and without considering the consequences.
○ Your emotions negatively impact your relationships with family, friends, colleagues, or romantic partners.
○ Your conflicts with others make you constantly afraid of rejection, loneliness, and abandonment.
○ You struggle with your identity or sense of self, and question your own worth.
○ You are worried by harmful behaviour such as self-harm, alcohol or drug abuse, overspending money, or risky sexual behavior.
If any of these seems familiar, please reach out to us. Your DBT therapist can help you improve your capacity to cope with your emotions and develop the skills to improve your quality of life.
It is hard to be happy without a life worth living. This is a fundamental tenet of DBT. Of course, all lives are worth living in reality. No life is not worth living. But what is important is that you experience your life as worth living— one that is satisfying, and one that brings happiness.
Marsha M. Linehan
Our comprehensive DBT program consists of multiple components that work together: Individual therapy, DBT Skills Group Training, and Phone Coaching. These components help you learn to change behaviour patterns that cause problems, while also accepting your experiences and emotions.
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We are passionate about what we do! Our team consists of skilled and highly trained compassionate therapists who have chosen to focus their careers on building expertise in DBT. All of our therapists are registered health professionals with graduate degrees and additional training in DBT. Our clinic is one of just a few in Canada led by a DBT-Linehan Board of Certification™ Certified Clinician.
We want to answer all of your questions, so we have compiled a list of questions people commonly ask us. We also provide some additional reading, videos, and links to help you and your loved ones access the resources you need. Of course, if you have more questions you can always contact us.
The Ontario DBT Centre offers virtual therapy to clients across Ontario. We are also very invested in providing training and consultation to other practitioners, so that DBT can become more widely accessible to those who need it most.
The first step is to contact us to schedule an initial phone consultation. We look forward to speaking with you and want to help you find the right program for your needs.