Concierge talking therapy · London & online
Private DBT (dialectical behaviour therapy) London.
Full-fidelity DBT for emotional dysregulation, borderline personality disorder, chronic self-harm, and complex trauma. Weekly individual therapy, a weekly skills group, phone coaching, and a therapist consultation team, delivered by a DBT-adherent London team. We match you privately and quote firm figures before you commit.
What DBT is
An evidence-based therapy, built for the hardest cases.
Marsha Linehan developed DBT in the 1980s for chronically suicidal women with borderline personality disorder, after standard CBT proved insufficient. Its central move is dialectic: full acceptance of the person as they are, and a relentless push toward change.
Mindfulness
Observing thoughts and feelings without acting on them. The foundation module, taught first and revisited every cycle.
Distress tolerance
TIPP, self-soothing, radical acceptance. Skills to survive a crisis without making it worse.
Emotion regulation
Naming, tracking and shifting emotions. Opposite action, PLEASE skills, and building positive experience.
Interpersonal effectiveness
DEAR MAN, GIVE, FAST. Asking for what you need, saying no, and holding relationships intact under pressure.
Who benefits
When DBT is the right treatment.
DBT was designed for problems that pure CBT struggles with: chronic emotional pain, self-destructive coping, and relationships that repeatedly rupture.
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Borderline personality disorder (EUPD)
The evidence base for DBT was built here. First-line NICE-informed treatment for emotionally unstable personality disorder in adults.
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Chronic suicidal thoughts or self-harm
Repeated crisis presentations, cutting, burning, overdosing. DBT was designed for this population and reduces self-harm by 50% or more.
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Binge eating and bulimia
DBT for eating disorders targets the emotion-driven binge or purge cycle when standard CBT-E has stalled.
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Treatment-resistant depression
Depression complicated by emotional volatility, rejection sensitivity, or repeated relationship rupture.
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PTSD with emotion dysregulation
Where trauma-focused CBT would destabilise, DBT stabilises first with skills, then integrates PE or DBT-PE for the trauma work.
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Adolescents with impulsivity
DBT-A is adapted for teenagers with self-harm, school refusal, family conflict, and emerging personality difficulties.
Full-fidelity programme
The four components that make it DBT.
Any programme missing one of these is DBT-informed, not full DBT. For high-risk presentations, the distinction matters clinically.
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Weekly individual therapy
60 minutes per week with your DBT therapist. Diary card review, behavioural chain analysis of the worst event of the week, and targeted skills coaching.
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Weekly skills group
Two to two and a half hours per week in a group of six to eight. Taught like a class, cycling through the four modules over roughly six months.
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Between-session phone coaching
Brief calls or texts to your therapist when you are in a crisis and about to use an old behaviour. Coaching in the moment, not therapy over the phone.
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Therapist consultation team
Your therapist meets weekly with other DBT clinicians. You do not see it, but it is what keeps a full-fidelity programme safe over 12 months.
Total commitment is typically six to twelve months. The first stage targets life-threatening behaviours and therapy-interfering behaviours; the second addresses trauma and quality-of-life goals.
Skills-only DBT
When a skills group on its own is enough.
Many private London providers offer a skills group without individual therapy. It is cheaper, easier to schedule, and there is real evidence for benefit in the right population.
Reasonable for stable clients
Adults with emotion regulation difficulties, mild interpersonal problems, or a wish to build coping skills alongside separate individual therapy can do well in a skills-only group. Trials of skills-only DBT show improvements in depression and emotion regulation in these populations.
Not adequate for high-risk patients
For chronic self-harm, active suicidality, or full BPD, skills alone are not enough. Phone coaching and the individual chain analysis are the parts that reduce risk. Ask any provider offering skills-only whether they screen out high-risk cases; a good team will.
Evidence
The trial data, in numbers.
Randomised trials since the 1990s consistently show reduced self-harm, fewer hospital admissions, and improved emotional regulation compared with treatment-as-usual.
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50%+
Reduction in self-harm episodes vs treatment-as-usual across landmark RCTs (Linehan et al.).
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73%
Reduction in psychiatric hospital days over one year of full-programme DBT.
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6–12
Months of full-programme commitment for durable change in BPD populations.
Cost in London
What private DBT costs in London.
Indicative ranges across the vetted London panel. Firm quotes provided after the pre-treatment call.
| Format | Indicative range | Duration |
|---|---|---|
| Full-fidelity programme (6 months) | £4,500 to £7,500 | 6 months |
| Full-fidelity programme (12 months) | £8,000 to £12,000 | 12 months |
| Skills-only group (per session) | £45 to £85 | 2 to 2.5 hours |
| Individual DBT (per session) | £150 to £250 | 60 minutes |
| Pre-treatment assessment | £220 to £380 | 90 minutes |
Where
The London providers we work with.
A short private panel, screened for adherence to the Linehan model and for genuine consultation-team structure, not just DBT-flavoured individual therapy.
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British Isles DBT Training
National training body, referrals to accredited teams
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The Priory (Roehampton and Hayes Grove)
Full-programme DBT, inpatient and outpatient
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Nightingale Hospital
Marylebone, outpatient DBT and eating disorder pathway
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One Welbeck Mental Health
Central London, DBT-informed individual work
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DBT London
Specialist standalone clinic, full-fidelity programmes
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Compass Wellbeing
Skills-only groups and adherent individual therapy
Inside an individual session
What actually happens in the room.
Individual DBT sessions are highly structured. Your therapist holds a validation-change balance throughout: yes, this pain is real; and yes, we are going to change how you respond to it.
Step 1
Diary card review
Daily ratings of emotions, urges and skills used. Sets the target for today.
Step 2
Behavioural chain analysis
A slow, forensic walk through the worst event of the week, link by link.
Step 3
Skills coaching
Which skill, at which link, would have changed the outcome. Rehearse it in session.
Step 4
Problem-solving and commitment
A specific plan for the week ahead, and a commitment to it.
Related guides
Related routes for complex mental health.
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Private psychiatric assessment
A consultant-led diagnostic assessment before therapy.
Learn more -
Eating disorder treatment
Specialist care for anorexia, bulimia and binge eating.
Learn more -
OCD treatment (ERP)
Exposure and response prevention for OCD.
Learn more -
Anxiety
Condition guide: GAD, panic, social and health anxiety.
Learn more -
Depression
Condition guide: assessment and treatment options.
Learn more
Frequently asked
Everything we get asked about DBT.
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How long is the commitment for full DBT?
A full-fidelity DBT programme runs for six to twelve months. Most private London teams ask for an initial six-month commitment, with an option to renew for a second stage if trauma work or graduate group is needed. Skills-only groups typically run for six months of once-weekly attendance.
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Is there evidence for DBT beyond borderline personality disorder?
Yes. Randomised trials support DBT for chronic self-harm without full BPD, binge eating disorder and bulimia (DBT-BED), treatment-resistant depression in older adults, and adolescents with mixed impulsivity and self-harm. Evidence for PTSD is strongest when DBT precedes or is combined with prolonged exposure (DBT-PE).
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Can DBT be delivered online?
The skills group and individual sessions can be delivered securely by video, and several London providers now offer hybrid programmes. Phone coaching was always remote. Fully online programmes work for stable clients; for high-risk patients most teams prefer at least the group in person.
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Will my insurance cover DBT?
Bupa, AXA, Vitality and Aviva usually cover the individual therapy component with pre-authorisation. Skills group cover is patchier because it is billed as group therapy, and some insurers cap sessions. Full programmes are often part self-pay, part insurance. We confirm cover before you commit.
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Is a skills-only group enough on its own?
For stable clients who mainly need emotion regulation and interpersonal skills, a skills-only group can produce real change and is a sensible, cheaper entry point. For chronic self-harm, active suicidality, or full BPD the evidence supports the full four-component programme, and skills alone are not adequate.
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What is the termination policy in DBT?
Standard DBT policy is that missing four consecutive individual or four consecutive group sessions ends the programme. It sounds harsh, and it is deliberate; consistent attendance is part of what makes DBT work. Teams will discuss the rule with you at pre-treatment and agree how it applies to your circumstances.
Ready to start?
A full-fidelity DBT programme in London, matched privately.
Send a short confidential note. We come back within one working day with a pre-treatment assessment slot, a firm quote, and two matched teams to choose from.