The coordinated full-model pathway

Comprehensive DBT

Comprehensive DBT combines the treatment modes that help skills transfer from a teaching setting into the moments when risk, urges, conflict, avoidance, or emotional intensity are highest.

Weekly individual DBT
DBT skills training
Between-session skills coaching when included
DBT therapist consultation team
Explicit treatment hierarchy and ongoing review

You do not need to choose the perfect program first

The intake reviews risk, current supports, treatment history, goals, availability, funding, and the amount of structure needed before a service is recommended.

Clinician-reviewed intake
Clear service recommendation
No referral required

Quick read

The essentials before you decide

What makes it comprehensive

Several coordinated treatment modes work together rather than operating as separate services.

Best suited for

Complex, persistent patterns involving high risk, repeated crisis, self-harm, severe emotion dysregulation, or major quality-of-life interference.

Commitment

The model asks for active participation, practice, attendance, honest review of targets, and collaboration around safety.

Duration

Length is individualized; many clients require at least a full skills cycle and sustained individual treatment.

Fit and safety

Choose the level of support that matches the pattern

This service may be right for you if…

You need both individualized behavioural treatment and systematic skills training
Patterns include life-threatening behaviour, severe impulsivity, repeated crisis, or major relationship and functioning disruption
A coordinated treatment team is clinically useful
You are willing to work within a clear hierarchy and practise between sessions

A different pathway may be safer or more useful when…

A skills-only or guided pathway may be proportionate when risk is lower
Immediate danger, medical instability, acute mania, psychosis, or withdrawal requires emergency or medical care first
Another specialized treatment may be more directly matched to the primary problem

Clinical rationale

Comprehensive DBT is a treatment system—not a collection of DBT-flavoured techniques

The full model coordinates multiple modes so that individual treatment, skills acquisition, real-time application, and therapist support reinforce one another. The structure protects treatment from becoming fragmented when the clinical picture is complex.

Individual therapy

Prioritize safety, analyze behaviour, strengthen commitment, and apply skills to the client’s own targets.

Skills training

Teach mindfulness, distress tolerance, emotion regulation, and interpersonal effectiveness in a systematic curriculum.

Phone or message coaching

Help clients use skills in the environment before ineffective behaviour takes over, within agreed boundaries.

Consultation team

Support therapist adherence, precision, balance, and sustainability through regular team consultation.

Program structure

How the treatment modes work together

Each mode has a distinct function. None is expected to do the whole job alone.

Set the hierarchy

Life-threatening behaviour comes first, followed by patterns that interfere with therapy and then quality-of-life targets.

Build capability

Skills training increases the behavioural options available when emotion and urges are intense.

Apply to the chain

Individual therapy identifies exactly where a different response could interrupt the pattern.

Generalize in context

Between-session support helps use skills in the situations where they are actually needed.

Review outcomes

Progress, barriers, attendance, target behaviour, and treatment fit are reviewed explicitly.

Coordinate care

When consented and clinically indicated, treatment can be coordinated with physicians or other professionals.

Between-session and practical support

Commitment is collaborative and explicit

Comprehensive DBT is demanding because it is designed for high-impact patterns. The clinic reviews expectations, barriers, willingness, safety, attendance, practice, and the amount of support that can realistically be provided before treatment begins.

Clear expectations

Roles, boundaries, attendance, communication, homework, and safety processes are discussed rather than assumed.

Ongoing commitment work

Ambivalence and avoidance are expected topics for treatment—not reasons for moral judgment.

Proportionate recommendations

If the full model is not needed or cannot be delivered safely, the clinic recommends a different pathway.

Beyond the appointment

Support is designed to help DBT reach real life

DBT is not strengthened by adding more material indiscriminately. The clinic selects communication, tracking, learning, and practice tools only when they have a clear treatment purpose and can be reviewed together.

Secure messaging that supports skill use

When messaging is part of the treatment plan, it can help clients share assigned work, clarify practice, and reconnect the next appointment to what happened in daily life.

A private learning environment

Selected clients receive structured learning materials, worksheets, reminders, and program resources through the STG Online Clinic rather than relying on memory alone.

Fees and access

Know the practical details before treatment begins

Comprehensive DBT typically combines individual and group fees. Current individual sessions range from $140–$225 and group sessions from $60–$90. Funding and reimbursement depend on eligibility and approval.

How care begins

A clear pathway—without guessing where to start

You do not need to know the diagnosis, program, or clinician before reaching out.

01 — Secure intake

Tell us what is happening, what you want to change, and any safety, scheduling, or funding needs.

02 — Clinical fit review

A clinician reviews the pattern, risk level, goals, diagnosis questions, and amount of structure needed.

03 — Clear recommendation

You receive a proportionate recommendation: individual DBT, a group, guided support, coordinated care, or another pathway.

04 — Begin with a plan

Care starts with explicit targets, skills practice, progress review, and a plan for support between sessions.

Common questions

What people usually want to know before starting

Is any therapy that uses DBT skills “comprehensive DBT”?

No. Comprehensive DBT refers to a coordinated treatment system with distinct modes, a hierarchy, behavioural methods, consultation, and structured skills training.

Do I have to participate in both individual therapy and skills training?

In the comprehensive model, both are core components. A different DBT-informed pathway may be recommended when the full model is not indicated.

What is between-session coaching for?

It helps apply skills in the environment before ineffective behaviour occurs. It is not a replacement for the weekly individual session.

Why does the therapist need a consultation team?

Comprehensive DBT asks therapists to maintain a demanding balance of acceptance, change, strategy, boundaries, and risk management. Consultation supports adherence and effective care.

Can my physician be involved?

With consent, care can be coordinated when medical, medication, or diagnostic information is relevant.

Related pathways

Start with a clinical fit review—not a guess about the program.

The secure intake gives the clinic enough information to recommend a proportionate and clinically appropriate next step.