One-to-one structured DBT care

DBT Individual Therapy

Weekly individual DBT helps translate insight into safer choices, steadier relationships, and behaviour change when emotional intensity makes the calm-moment plan disappear.

Weekly 50-minute individual sessions
A prioritized DBT treatment hierarchy
Diary-card and chain-analysis review
Secure between-session support when included in the treatment plan

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

Format

Weekly individual psychotherapy, commonly 50 minutes.

Best suited for

Personalized high-impact targets, repeated crisis patterns, self-harm urges, impulsive coping, or severe relationship instability.

How it works

A treatment hierarchy, diary-card review, behavioural chain analysis, skills coaching, and explicit weekly priorities.

Delivery

Secure online care across Saskatchewan when clinically appropriate.

Fit and safety

Choose the level of support that matches the pattern

This service may be right for you if…

You need one-to-one treatment rather than skills education alone
Your patterns involve significant risk, self-harm, suicidal thinking, impulsivity, severe avoidance, or repeated relationship rupture
You are willing to review what happened between sessions and practise new responses
You want a treatment plan with clear priorities rather than open-ended supportive conversation

A different pathway may be safer or more useful when…

Immediate danger, acute mania, psychosis, intoxication, or medical instability requires emergency or medical care first
A structured skills group may be enough when risk is lower and the primary goal is learning DBT tools
Guided Self-Help may fit when weekly therapy is not needed and self-directed work is realistic

Clinical rationale

Individual DBT is organized around what most threatens safety and quality of life

DBT does not treat every concern as equally urgent. Sessions use a clear hierarchy so that life-threatening behaviour, therapy-interfering patterns, and quality-of-life problems are addressed in a clinically coherent order. Validation and acceptance are paired with precise behaviour change—not used instead of it.

Safety and stabilization

Life-threatening and high-risk behaviours are assessed directly and prioritized before lower-impact goals.

Therapy engagement

Avoidance, missed sessions, concealment, or patterns that block treatment are addressed without shaming.

Life-worth-living targets

Relationships, work, routines, health, identity, and meaningful goals become active treatment targets.

Program structure

What usually happens in a DBT individual session

The session is structured enough to preserve direction and flexible enough to respond to what occurred during the week.

1. Review the week

Use the diary card, recent events, urges, behaviours, and skill use to identify the highest-priority target.

2. Analyze the pattern

Map vulnerabilities, prompting events, links in the chain, consequences, and points where another response could become possible.

3. Practise a new response

Rehearse specific DBT skills, communication, problem solving, exposure, validation, or contingency changes.

4. Make the plan usable

Leave with a concrete practice plan and a clear understanding of what will be reviewed next time.

Between-session and practical support

The work between sessions is part of treatment

DBT aims for skills to become available when pressure is high. Depending on the treatment plan, support can include diary cards, assigned practice, secure messaging, digital learning materials, crisis planning, and coordination with other professionals.

Diary cards

Track target behaviours, urges, emotions, and skill use so treatment is based on patterns rather than memory alone.

Skills and assignments

Practise selected methods in the situations where the old pattern usually takes over.

Between-session coaching

When included, brief contact helps apply skills before the situation becomes a full crisis—not process an entire therapy session by message.

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

Individual counselling currently ranges from $140 to $225 for a 50-minute session. The exact fee depends on clinician, income, coverage, and funding arrangements. Private insurance reimbursement is plan-dependent; NIHB and Métis Nation–Saskatchewan funding require 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

Do I need a confirmed BPD diagnosis?

No. Intake considers the behavioural pattern, risk, functioning, current supports, goals, and whether DBT is clinically appropriate.

Does individual DBT always include a skills group?

Comprehensive DBT includes both individual therapy and skills training. Some people receive individual DBT-informed care or another pathway when the full model is not indicated or available.

What is a diary card?

A brief weekly record of target behaviours, urges, emotions, and skills. It helps the session focus on what actually happened rather than relying only on recall.

Can DBT help with bipolar disorder?

DBT can support routines, distress tolerance, emotion regulation, and relationships, but it does not replace medical assessment or medication management for bipolar disorder.

Is this an emergency service?

No. Call 911 or go to the nearest emergency department for immediate danger. HealthLine 811 and 988 are additional crisis resources.

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.