Dialectical Behaviour Therapy Melbourne

The duration varies depending on your individual needs and goals. Most people commit to weekly individual DBT sessions over several months to a year as they build emotional regulation skills and address underlying patterns. Your psychologist will work with you to establish realistic timeframes and adjust the pace based on your progress.

We offer flexible scheduling including evenings, weekend appointments, and telehealth options to fit your work commitments and lifestyle. Your psychologist will discuss realistic timeframes with you, as progress varies from person to person.

Yes. DBT is one of the most researched psychological treatments available, with decades of scientific support across a range of emotional and behavioural difficulties. It is recognised as an evidence-based treatment in Australian and international clinical guidelines.

Individual psychology sessions including DBT have a portion covered under the Better Access Scheme with a valid GP referral. You will need to discuss this directly with your GP as they will prepare you a Mental Health Treatment Plan should be eligible and with this you can access a Medicare rebate for up to 10 sessions per calendar year.

Private health insurance may provide additional coverage depending on your specific policy. We work closely with your insurer to maximise your coverage and minimise out-of-pocket costs. We recommend contacting us directly for a detailed breakdown of costs and to discuss payment options tailored to your situation.

Yes, we provide DBT-informed therapy via telehealth Australia-wide, making therapy accessible if you can’t attend in person. Research indicates telehealth can be as effective as face-to-face sessions for many people. Read more about the benefits of telehealth therapy here. For some individuals it can also offer greater flexibility for working professionals, students, or those in remote areas. You can attend individual sessions from the comfort of your home or office, making it easier to maintain consistency in your treatment.

Comprehensive DBT includes the full multi-component treatment model as originally developed by Dr. Marsha Linehan: individual therapy, group skills training programs, phone coaching from therapists, and therapist consultation teams working together. This model is primarily available through specialised DBT clinics and programs. DBT-informed therapy uses evidence-based DBT principles and skills delivered through individual sessions tailored to your specific needs.

At Positive Wellbeing Psychology and Psychiatry, we often utilise DBT-informed individual therapy—applying the four core DBT skills (mindfulness, distress tolerance, emotion regulation, and interpersonal effectiveness) integrated into your weekly or fortnightly sessions. This approach is flexible, personalised, and accessible while maintaining the evidence-based foundations of DBT.

While CBT focuses on changing your thoughts and behaviours, DBT also combines acceptance (validating where you are right now) with change strategies. DBT integrates mindfulness-based techniques to help you observe thoughts and emotions without judgment, which is particularly powerful for managing intense emotions. DBT was originally developed to help with emotion dysregulation, and combines acceptance with change strategies.

Getting started is straightforward and low-pressure. Begin by submitting an online enquiry here. We’ll match you with one of our psychologist that best suits your individual needs and set up your initial consultation. During this first appointment, you can discuss your therapy goals and collaboratively with one of our psychologists you can assess whether DBT-informed individual therapy is the right fit for your specific needs and circumstances.

At Positive Wellbeing Psychology and Psychiatry, our clinic director personally reviews the information provided to help pair you with a psychologist whose experience, therapeutic style, and personality align with your individual needs and goals.

Once matched, you’ll start weekly individual therapy sessions where your psychologist will help you identify emotional patterns, build DBT skills, and apply them to your real-life situations. This will be discussed in your initial appointment as it will depend on your therapy goals and individual needs. Throughout your individual therapy sessions, your psychologist supports you every step of the way and will discuss realistic timeframes with you, as progress varies from person to person. We have our clinic in Armadale and offer telehealth across Australia.

That’s exactly what your initial consultation is for. Your first appointment is an exploratory session where we get to know you and assess whether DBT-informed individual therapy is the right fit for your needs. During this time, we’ll discuss your current challenges, explore what brought you to seek help, and talk about what you’d like to achieve through therapy.

We’ll explain how we integrate DBT principles into individual sessions, what the commitment looks like and what to expect. This is also when we’ll work together to identify your goals—what does success look like for you? Are you wanting to reduce self-harm, manage anxiety better, improve relationships, or develop emotional regulation skills? Understanding your goals helps us determine whether DBT-informed therapy is the right approach or if an alternative therapy might suit you better. There’s no obligation to proceed until you’re confident. Many people benefit greatly from this initial appointment and gain clarity about their next steps, whether that’s moving forward with DBT-informed therapy or exploring other options.

Yes. While DBT was originally developed for borderline personality disorder, DBT principles can help with anxiety, depression, eating disorders, trauma, substance use, ADHD, and emotional dysregulation broadly. If your anxiety or depression involves intense emotional reactivity, difficulty managing emotions, impulsive patterns, or relationship instability, DBT-informed individual therapy can be particularly helpful. Our psychologists have experience treating emotional dysregulation across a wide range of presentations and will tailor your treatment to address your specific concerns and goals.

DBT-informed individual therapy is flexible and personalised—your psychologist integrates evidence-based DBT principles directly into your weekly sessions based on your specific needs and pace. You receive tailored treatment without the commitment of a multi-year, multi-component program.

Comprehensive DBT programs typically involve group skills training, phone coaching from multiple therapists, and structured timelines. DBT-informed individual therapy achieves similar benefits through a more flexible, accessible approach. This makes it ideal for people who want the evidence-based benefits of DBT in a format that fits their lifestyle and schedule. Often our psychologists will integrate a number of evidence-based therapy approached including cognitive behavioural therapy, schema therapy and in certain instances EMDR therapy when beneficial.