DBT for adolescents and caregivers is challenging work. Treating emotionally dysregulated teens is hard. However, treating them while parents are drowning in fear, guilt, and frustration can be even harder.
That is why I am co-teaching “DBT for Adolescents and Their Caregivers” with Adam Payne, PhD on September 16–18, 2026, through Behavioral Tech Institute.
Behavioral Tech Institute is the training organization founded by Marsha Linehan, PhD, the developer of Dialectical Behavior Therapy.
DBT for Adolescents and Caregivers
This training is for clinicians who want practical tools for working with teens and families.
Teens need skills. Parents need skills. In addition, families need a shared language.
Because of that, adolescent DBT often focuses on the whole system. The goal is not only to help the teen change. It is also to help caregivers respond with more skill, clarity, and steadiness.
This work can help families build lives that feel more stable, connected, and worth living.
DBT for Adolescents With Emotion Dysregulation
Emotionally dysregulated teens can move quickly from pain to crisis.
Parents may respond with fear, control, guilt, frustration, avoidance, or exhaustion. Usually, those responses make sense. Still, they can become part of the pattern that keeps a family stuck.
For that reason, clinicians need strategies that address both the teen and the environment around the teen.
In adolescent DBT, that means helping families build skills. It also means improving validation, responding to risk, reducing escalation, and creating structure for behavior change.
DBT for Adolescents Training With Adam Payne, PhD
Adam Payne is a brilliant teacher and reliably funny.
Sometimes his humor is pretty unhinged, which is my favorite kind of fun.
I am looking forward to teaching with him. This training covers serious clinical work. However, it also benefits from warmth, flexibility, and real examples.
As a result, clinicians should leave with strategies they can use the following Monday.
Training Details
DBT for Adolescents and Their Caregivers
Date: September 16–18, 2026
Format: Live, remote, instructor-led
Trainers: Adam Payne, PhD and Marcus Rodriguez, PhD
Register here: https://behavioraltech.org/event/dialectical-behavior-therapy-for-adolescents-their-caregivers-2/
Overall, this Behavioral Tech training is designed for active DBT clinicians trained in standard DBT. It is for clinicians who want to strengthen their work with adolescents and caregivers.
At YFI, we support youth, young adults, adults, and families navigating emotion dysregulation, anxiety, depression, OCD, PTSD, self-harm, suicide risk, ADHD, family conflict, and repeated crises. Our team provides comprehensive DBT, parent coaching, skills training, phone coaching, and coordinated care for clients and families who need more support. Learn more about our DBT services here: https://youthandfamilyinstitute.com/dbt/
For families in Bel Air, Westwood, and Century City, YFI provides evidence-based care with warmth, clarity, and respect through our West LA location. To learn more or connect with our team, please visit our contact page: https://youthandfamilyinstitute.com/contact/
