Catholic DBT
Online DBT skills, from a Catholic perspective.
Dialectical Behavior Therapy is one of the best-researched approaches for intense emotions — and it doesn't have to be taught apart from your faith. Our online skills classes bring together faithful Catholic practice and clinically rigorous DBT.
Join the waitlistIn Colorado and looking for counseling? Visit Denver Catholic Counseling
“The tree that is beside the running water is fresher and gives more fruit.” — St. Teresa of Ávila
What is DBT?
Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) was developed by Marsha Linehan for people whose emotions are intense and hard to manage. It is the best-established treatment for borderline personality disorder, and research suggests its skills can also help with depression, anxiety, anger, and relationship conflict.
Why a Catholic perspective?
DBT is usually taught in secular language. Its mindfulness skills drew on both Zen practice and Christian contemplative prayer, though the Christian roots are rarely made explicit. Our classes teach the same evidence-based skills within a Catholic understanding of the human person — drawing on the Church's own contemplative tradition, the wisdom of the saints, and a vision of suffering that has meaning. Nothing watered down on either side: faithful Catholicism, rigorous DBT.
The four skill modules
- Mindfulness Attention, steadied — and offered to God. The foundation of every other skill: noticing what is happening inside and around you without being swept away by it.
- Distress Tolerance Getting through the storm without making it worse. Skills for crisis moments, and for accepting painful realities you cannot change — without approving of them.
- Emotion Regulation Your emotions are real. They are not in charge. Understanding what emotions do, reducing your vulnerability to the hardest ones, and changing the ones that no longer fit the facts.
- Interpersonal Effectiveness Charity that can also say no. Asking for what you need, setting limits, and keeping both the relationship and your self-respect — including the skill of validation.
Your instructor
Jenell Effinger, Ph.D. is an intensively trained DBT psychologist and Clinical Director of Front Range Treatment Center, a comprehensive DBT program in the Denver area.
Questions?
Is DBT compatible with the faith? Isn't mindfulness Buddhist? Is this therapy? Read the FAQ →
Join the waitlist
The next online cohort is being planned. Leave your name and email and we'll reach out when dates are set — no commitment, no spam.