DBT Therapy

DBT Therapy in West Los Angeles

DBT therapy in West Los Angeles for the feelings that arrive at full volume: the argument that escalates in seconds, the urge you act on and regret an hour later, the shame that follows. Dialectical Behavior Therapy gives you skills for those moments, practiced until they hold.

At Life Threads Therapy®, DBT is led by Lyndsay Mclaren, LPCC, a DBT certified therapist, in individual sessions and with families, in person at our West LA office and by secure video throughout California.

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What DBT Is

Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) is an evidence-based therapy that teaches four sets of skills: mindfulness, distress tolerance, emotion regulation and interpersonal effectiveness. It was developed for people whose emotions run more intensely and shift faster than other people's, and it has since been adapted for teens, for eating disorders and for substance use.

The word dialectical points at the balance the therapy holds: accepting where you are and what you feel, while working to change what is not working. Neither half is optional. Acceptance without change leaves you stuck; change without acceptance turns into one more thing to fail at.

Who DBT Helps

DBT is a fit when emotions feel bigger and faster than you can manage in the moment: anger that goes from zero to shouting, sadness that swallows a whole day, anxiety that turns into an impulse you act on before you have decided to. It helps when relationships keep blowing up over the same things, when self-criticism runs constantly in the background, and when the ways you cope in the moment cost you afterwards.

For teens, DBT is often the first therapy that makes sense to them, because it is practical: real skills for the hallway, the group chat and the dinner table, not just talking about feelings. Families learn the same language, so the skills survive outside the session. Lyndsay also draws on DBT alongside her eating disorder and trauma work, where the emotional storm and the behavior that follows it are usually connected.

How DBT Works Here

Sessions are individual, weekly, and structured around skills: you learn one, practice it between sessions, track what happened, and bring it back. When a pattern has a history behind it, we pair DBT with EMDR or IFS therapy so the skills are not fighting old wounds on their own.

One thing to know before you book: we offer DBT in individual sessions and with families, not the full-program model with a weekly skills group, phone coaching and a consultation team. For many people that is the right amount of DBT. If your situation calls for the full program, we will say so in the first conversation and help you find it.

The Life Threads Therapy office in West Los Angeles, where DBT sessions take place

Your DBT Therapist

Lyndsay Mclaren, LPCC is DBT certified, with over eleven years across outpatient, residential and inpatient settings, which means practiced familiarity with the situations most therapists find hardest: eating disorders, trauma that keeps surfacing, substance use, and teens and families in the middle of it. Her practice is LGBTQIA+ affirming.

Sessions are a flat $200. We are out of network with most insurance and handle the reimbursement paperwork for you; the details are on our private pay page, and the reimbursement estimator shows what a session is likely to cost you after your plan pays its share.

Lyndsay Mclaren, LPCC, DBT certified therapist at Life Threads Therapy in West Los Angeles

Getting Started

Every new client starts with a free 20-minute consultation: an unhurried conversation about what is happening and whether DBT, or a mix of approaches, is the right fit. Book online, or send a question through the contact page first if that feels easier.

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DBT Questions

The questions people ask before their first DBT session.

CBT works on the link between thoughts, feelings and behavior, and changes the thoughts that drive the loop. DBT grew out of CBT for people whose emotions run too hot for that to work on its own: it adds mindfulness and acceptance skills first, then distress tolerance and emotion regulation, and it treats the relationship with the therapist as part of the work. Many people use both; our CBT therapy page explains the CBT side.
No. We provide DBT in individual sessions and with families, led by a DBT certified therapist. A full-program DBT clinic adds a weekly skills group, phone coaching between sessions and a therapist consultation team. If your situation needs that level, we will say so in the first conversation and point you toward it.
DBT was adapted for adolescents specifically, and it is one of the approaches Lyndsay uses most with teens and their families, because the skills are concrete and parents can learn them too. Our teen therapy page covers how we work with adolescents.
Sessions are a flat $200. We are out of network; most PPO plans reimburse a share once your deductible is met, and we file the claims for you. The reimbursement estimator shows what a session is likely to cost you.

Skills for the Moments That Matter

Book a free 20-minute consultation and see whether DBT is the right fit. No commitment required.

Book a free consultation

If you are experiencing a mental health emergency, please contact the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline by calling or texting 988, or go to your nearest emergency room. The information on this page is for educational purposes and does not constitute clinical advice or a therapeutic relationship.