DBT (dialectical behavior therapy) is one of the best-studied treatments for self-harm, suicidal urges and borderline personality disorder.¹ ² In the Bay Area it is offered by private group practices, hospitals, a university program, training clinics and Kaiser. This page lists every one we could verify on the program's own website, by region.
The short answer: we found 30 Bay Area programs, not counting Kaiser, that run DBT groups or DBT programs. Four are certified as programs by the DBT-Linehan Board of Certification: Awake DBT (Campbell), the DBT Center of Silicon Valley (San Jose), the San Francisco DBT Center, and the Wavefront program at UCSF.³ Published group prices run from $12 a session at a Berkeley training clinic to $150 a session in private practice. Most private DBT groups do not bill insurance; hospital and teen IOP programs usually do.
First, know which kind of DBT you are buying
Full ("comprehensive") DBT has four parts running together: weekly individual therapy, a weekly skills group, phone coaching between sessions, and a consultation team for the therapists.¹ A skills group alone teaches the four skill sets (mindfulness, distress tolerance, emotion regulation, interpersonal effectiveness) but is not the full treatment. In the tables below:
- Comprehensive means the program's own site names all four parts.
- Skills group means the site describes a group, sometimes alongside individual DBT, without naming all four parts.
- IOP/PHP means a day or after-school program that uses DBT skills groups among other things.
- Certified means the program appears in the DBT-Linehan Board of Certification's public directory of certified programs.³
The printable check to run on any program → · What DBT is, and what it isn't →
How a program is listed: an office in one of the nine Bay Area counties (or a Bay Area-based program running telehealth groups for Californians), and its own website describes a DBT skills group, a comprehensive DBT program, or a DBT-based IOP or PHP. Read on November 13, 2026. Individual "DBT-informed" therapy with no group is not listed. No one paid or was asked; a listing is not a recommendation. Within each region, rows are alphabetical.
South Bay (Santa Clara County)
| Program | Who it serves | What it is | Cost and insurance, as published | How to start |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Awake DBT — 750-B Camden Ave, Campbell. Certified program. | Adults, young adults, teens and parents | Comprehensive; weekly DBT Teen & Parent skills group; in person or virtual | Not published | (408) 479-4632 or a free consultation online |
| Bay Area Mental Health — 1925 Winchester Blvd #204, Campbell | Adults; separate teen and neurodivergent groups | Skills group in four modules, with brief phone coaching and a graduates group. Its groups page says current groups are online for Californians | $105 per 2-hour group, paid by module; intake $225 ($300 for a DBT intake); a lower-fee group for those who qualify; does not bill insurance | 408-508-3611. The wait is "usually three to six weeks" |
| Children's Health Council, RISE (with Stanford) — 650 Clark Way, Palo Alto | Teens 13–18 with suicidal thoughts, self-harm or severe dysregulation | IOP using comprehensive DBT: individual and group therapy, multifamily skills, 24/7 phone coaching; 9 weeks, Mon–Thu afternoons; a required 6-week parent group | Financial assistance available. Accepts county Medi-Cal, but its two websites name different counties (San Mateo, Santa Clara): ask | 650-688-3675. "Accepting Referrals Now" |
| Children's Health Council, teen DBT skills groups — 650 Clark Way, Palo Alto | High school teens; middle schoolers with parents (multifamily, on Zoom) | Skills groups; teens must also see an outside therapist | One version of its site lists $1,140 for 8 weeks (high school) and $1,710 for 12 weeks (middle school multifamily); financial assistance available | 650-688-3675 |
| DBT Center of Silicon Valley — 1570 The Alameda, San Jose. Certified program. | Adults (online, anywhere in California); teens with parents (in person) | Comprehensive, 6-month commitment; adult groups Mon or Wed 6–8 pm; multifamily group Tue 6–8 pm | Rates by phone; out of network, with possible reimbursement | (408) 207-5269 on its home page; its contact page lists (408) 357-4575 |
| El Camino Health, ASPIRE — 825 Pollard Rd, Suite 201, Los Gatos | Grades 6–8; grades 9–12; young adults 18–25 | After-school IOP (and PHP for ages 18–25) using "a framework of dialectical behavioral therapy," with skills training and parent groups | Works with your insurance; cost-share may apply | Free assessment: 650-962-5855. Enrollment is continuous |
| Evolve Treatment Centers, San Jose — 1991 Park Ave #20, San Jose | Teens 12–17 | PHP (DBT skills groups twice a week) and IOP (weekly DBT skills group plus a multi-family group) | "We do not accept Medi-Cal or Medicaid"; free insurance check | (800) 665-4769 |
| Silicon Valley DBT (Sandy Hillhouse, MFT) — 4020 Fabian Way, Palo Alto, and 1680 The Alameda, San Jose | Teens 13–18, young adults 18–28, families | Comprehensive; multifamily groups (Palo Alto Tue, San Jose Thu, 7–8:30 pm), teen groups and a young-adult group; new families join every 5 weeks if there is room | Not published | Contact form on its website |
| South Bay DBT (Melinda Brackett, LMFT) — 1570 The Alameda, Suite 255-B, San Jose | Adults | Individual DBT, skills group and between-session coaching; current group on Zoom, Thursdays 5:15–6:45 pm through January 2027 | Not published; lists itself as a Lyra network provider | (408) 893-4032. New members can join up to session 3 of a module |
| Stanford Medicine, Adult DBT Program — 401 Quarry Rd, Stanford | Adults 18–75 | Comprehensive; also a skills-group-only track, a DBT skills group for friends and family, and a 12-week group for functional neurological disorder | Billed to your insurance; does not see patients using Kaiser insurance | 650-498-9111, press 2 |
| Stanford Medicine, Adolescent DBT — 401 Quarry Rd, Stanford | Ages 12–18 living at home, with parents | Individual therapy, multifamily skills group, phone coaching and consultation team | Not published | 650-723-5511 |
Los Gatos and Los Altos: El Camino's ASPIRE program is in Los Gatos. We found no DBT group with an office in Los Altos; the nearest are in Palo Alto.
Peninsula (San Mateo County)
| Program | Who it serves | What it is | Cost and insurance, as published | How to start |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Wise Mind Institute — 617 Veterans Blvd, Suite 107, Redwood City (also 825 Page St, Berkeley) | Adults; teens 14–18 with a caregiver | Comprehensive adult DBT (7–14 months); a 12-month adolescent program with a weekly multifamily class (virtual); radically open DBT (RO-DBT) | $150 per adult skills class; $250 per multifamily class (teen and parents); groups are self-pay; some clinicians are in network with Blue Shield of California for individual therapy; limited reduced-fee spots | 650-503-8179, or the form on its site. Its pages give two class lengths (90 minutes and 1 hour 45 minutes) |
Peninsula families also use the Stanford and Children's Health Council programs listed under the South Bay.
San Francisco
| Program | Who it serves | What it is | Cost and insurance, as published | How to start |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bay Area CBT Center — 45 Franklin St, Suite 210 (also 4283 Piedmont Ave, Oakland) | Adults | Comprehensive; rotating skills groups you can join at any time; in person or online statewide | Group $60–$125 a session depending on the clinician's level. Its fees page says it is out of network; its DBT page says it accepts many plans: ask | 415-941-5373; free 20-minute consultation |
| Edgewood Center for Children and Families — 1801 Vicente St | Youth 12–17 | IOP (DBT skills groups, 2–5 pm, 3–5 days a week) and PHP | Not published | Referrals and admissions: 415-682-3172 |
| San Francisco DBT Center — 1702 Union St. Certified program. | Adults; high school teens with a caregiver | Comprehensive one-year adult program (skills groups by telehealth); 6-month teen program with in-person multifamily groups; a skills group alone after an intake | $150 per group; intake $300; out of network, with a superbill (its certification listing names some plans for skills groups: ask) | Phone lines for each therapist are on its contact page. "Now enrolling for SFDBT skills groups" |
| Wavefront DBT Program, UCSF — San Francisco. Certified program. | Teens and young adults up to 25, with families | Comprehensive family-based DBT: 24-week multifamily skills group, individual and family therapy, phone coaching for teens and parents | San Francisco Medi-Cal through a SF Department of Public Health referral; commercial insurance per its certification listing | (415) 502-1523. Its listing says "we always have a waitlist" |
Oakland
| Program | Who it serves | What it is | Cost and insurance, as published | How to start |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hilary Ferris White, LCSW — 4442 Piedmont Ave, Suite A | Teens 11–13 and 13–17, each with parents | Multifamily skills classes over 24 weeks, plus individual therapy and parent coaching | $150 per class ($900 per module per person); intake $300; no insurance, superbill provided | (916) 761-3744 or the sign-up page |
| Oakland DBT and Mindfulness Center — 4179 Piedmont Ave, Suite 210 | Adults 30+, young adults 18–29, parents, a postpartum class; no teen classes | Individual DBT and 8-week skills modules (about 6 months), all on Zoom; you must be in individual therapy | $800 per 8-week module; intake $200; no insurance, Medi-Cal or Medicare; superbills; sliding scale for some | 510-239-5698 |
| Pacific DBT Collaborative — 17 Armanino Ct and 166 Santa Clara Ave, Oakland; 405 Kains Ave, Albany | Adults, including perinatal and older adults | Comprehensive; groups in person (Mon, Rockridge; Thu, North Berkeley) and on Zoom (Mon, Tue) | $95 per group in person, $85 virtual; intake $100; no insurance; sliding-scale spots | Call or text 510-823-2455. "We offer rolling enrollments" |
East Bay (Berkeley, Contra Costa and the rest of Alameda County)
| Program | Who it serves | What it is | Cost and insurance, as published | How to start |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ClearWater Clinic — 1 Bates Blvd, Suite 400, Orinda | Teens 11–13 and 13–17 with a parent; young adults 18–24; adults 25+; parents (Zoom) | Comprehensive teen DBT (individual, parent coaching, 7-day phone coaching, multifamily class, consultation team); skills class alone if a teen has an outside therapist. One clinician is DBT-LBC certified³ | $90 per participant per week ($540 per 6-week module); intake $250; no insurance contracts | (510) 596-8137. "Classes fill quickly" |
| Evolve Treatment Centers, Danville outpatient — 588 San Ramon Valley Blvd #110, Danville | Teens 12–17 | PHP and IOP with DBT skills groups and a multi-family group | In network with Blue Cross Blue Shield, Kaiser, Blue Shield and TriWest, per its page | (800) 665-4769 |
| Evolve Treatment Centers, residential — 1261 Panorama Dr, Lafayette; 123 Brodia Way, Walnut Creek; 263 Montego Dr, Danville | Teens 12–17 | Residential treatment with DBT skills groups four times a week | In network with several plans (not named on these pages) | (800) 665-4769 |
| Fremont Hospital, adolescent PHP — 39001 Sundale Dr, Fremont | Teens 12–17 | Day program (Mon–Fri) that lists DBT among its methods | Not published | Assessment: 888-702-1101 |
| John Muir Health, Behavioral Health PHP and IOP — 4080 Port Chicago Hwy, Concord | Adults, including 65+ | Half-day program using CBT and DBT | Helps get authorization from your plan | (925) 674-4265 |
| Mt. Diablo Psychological Services — 171 Front St, Suite 201, Danville | Teens with parents (multifamily, in person, 22 weeks); adults (online, 24 weeks) | Individual therapy alongside skills groups | $175 a week (teen and one parent), $250 (two parents); adults $110 a week; insurance not stated. Its pages disagree on schedules: confirm | (925) 448-7129 |
| Wright Institute, Berkeley CBT Clinic — Berkeley (graduate training clinic) | Adults | DBT skills group in 10-week modules, run by supervised trainees; you must have an individual therapist | $12 per group session; intake $40; individual therapy $25–$75 sliding scale; no Medi-Cal | (510) 923-2241 or (510) 239-2013; leave a message |
North Bay (Marin, Sonoma, Napa, Solano)
| Program | Who it serves | What it is | Cost and insurance, as published | How to start |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Guidepost DBT — 300 Tamal Plaza, Suite 220, Corte Madera (also Oakland and San Francisco offices) | All ages | Comprehensive and "informed" DBT and RO-DBT; teen group (Tue, in person), adult group (Tue, virtual statewide), multifamily group (Thu, in person), a 12-week parent workshop (virtual) | Individual sessions from $180; superbills; group prices not published | 415-459-5206. "Get Started In 24 Hours With No Waitlist!" |
| MarinHealth, ASPIRE — 250 Bon Air Rd, Greenbrae | Teens 12–17 | After-school IOP where "DBT is a core component"; 8 weeks, Mon–Thu 3–6 pm, with family sessions | "Covered by most major commercial insurance" | 415-925-8450. "Now Welcoming Referrals" |
| Muir Wood Teen IOP — 320 Washington St, Petaluma | Teens 12–17 | After-school IOP with DBT as a core approach | Most commercial plans; not Medi-Cal | (866) 705-0828 |
| Providence Santa Rosa Memorial, outpatient behavioral health — 405 W College Ave, Suite F, Santa Rosa | Adults (ages not stated) | IOP and PHP that use DBT | "Most insurance plans, including Kaiser and Medicare" | 707-547-5450 |
Kaiser members
Kaiser Permanente does not list its DBT programs on member pages we could find. Its own clinician-training pages describe them: an adult DBT program in Oakland that "follows the Linehan model closely" (skills groups, individual therapy, phone coaching); a DBT Intensive Program in San Rafael; DBT groups for adults and children in Santa Rosa; a DBT Intensive Program in Napa-Solano, with a Fairfield DBT team; and DBT skills inside the adult and child IOPs in San Francisco.⁴ Kaiser says members do not need a referral for mental health care.⁵ Call your Kaiser Mental Health department and ask for the DBT program by name. If no DBT is available within a reasonable time, you have rights. If Kaiser says nobody is available →
On Medi-Cal or a tight budget
- San Francisco Medi-Cal: UCSF's Wavefront program takes referrals through the SF Department of Public Health.
- County Medi-Cal, teens 13–18: Children's Health Council's RISE program accepts county Medi-Cal.
- Lowest published price: the Wright Institute's Berkeley clinic, $12 a group session.
- Sliding scale or reduced-fee spots: Bay Area Mental Health, Oakland DBT and Mindfulness Center, Pacific DBT Collaborative, The Wise Mind Institute.
- Your county's access line can tell you which Medi-Cal providers run DBT groups. Every county's line →
Certified DBT in the Bay Area
The DBT-Linehan Board of Certification is a nonprofit that certifies DBT clinicians and programs after independent review.³ On November 13, 2026, its public directory listed 4 certified programs in the nine Bay Area counties (the four marked above) and 23 certified clinicians: 9 in San Francisco, 6 in Santa Clara County, 4 in Contra Costa, and 1 each in Alameda, San Mateo, Marin and Napa. None were listed in Sonoma or Solano. Certification is a useful signal, not a requirement: most effective DBT therapists are not certified. Search the directory →
Where DBT came from
DBT was developed by Marsha Linehan, a psychologist at the University of Washington, now professor emeritus.⁶ It came out of her work in the 1980s with chronically suicidal women. In the first trial, published in 1991, women in DBT "had fewer incidences of parasuicide and less medically severe parasuicides" than those in usual care.⁷ In a 2006 trial against expert community therapists, people in DBT "were half as likely to make a suicide attempt."² A 2015 study found that "interventions that include DBT skills training are more effective than DBT without skills training," which is why the group matters.⁸
In 2011 Linehan told the New York Times that as a teenager she had been treated at the Institute of Living in Hartford, Connecticut.⁹ In her memoir she describes a vow she made then: if she got out of "emotional hell," she would find a way to get others out.¹⁰ She founded Behavioral Tech, the Linehan Institute and, with colleagues, the DBT-Linehan Board of Certification.⁶
For teenagers, a 2018 trial of 173 youths aged 12–18 called DBT "the first well-established, empirically supported treatment for decreasing repeated suicide attempts and self-harm in youths."¹¹ That is why so many programs above work with teens and parents together.
Wondering about the diagnosis itself? "Borderline" means two different things depending on who says it. BPD vs. borderline personality organization → · The California guide to BPD →
Q&A
Where can I find a DBT skills group in the Bay Area? On November 13, 2026, we verified 30 Bay Area programs with DBT groups or programs, not counting Kaiser, from San Jose and Palo Alto to San Francisco, Oakland, Orinda, Danville, Corte Madera and Santa Rosa. Four are DBT-Linehan Board certified programs.³
How much does a DBT group cost in the Bay Area? Published prices ran from $12 a session at the Wright Institute's Berkeley training clinic to $150 a session in private practice, with multifamily teen groups up to $250 a session for a teen and parents.
Does insurance cover DBT in the Bay Area? Most private DBT groups listed here are out of network and give a superbill. Hospital and teen IOP programs such as El Camino ASPIRE, MarinHealth ASPIRE and Evolve usually bill insurance. Kaiser members get DBT through Kaiser Mental Health.
Our therapist directory: See its current status →
Sources
- Behavioral Tech, "Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT)" — "There are four modes of standard outpatient DBT" — behavioraltech.org.
- Linehan MM, Comtois KA, Murray AM, et al., "Two-year randomized controlled trial and follow-up of dialectical behavior therapy vs therapy by experts for suicidal behaviors and borderline personality disorder," Archives of General Psychiatry 63(7), 2006, 757–766 — pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov.
- DBT-Linehan Board of Certification, public directories of certified programs and clinicians (read November 13, 2026) — dbt-lbc.org programs; dbt-lbc.org clinicians.
- Kaiser Permanente Northern California mental health training program pages: Oakland, San Rafael, Santa Rosa, Napa-Solano (read November 13, 2026) — mentalhealthtraining-ncal.kaiserpermanente.org; San Rafael; Santa Rosa; Napa-Solano.
- Kaiser Permanente, mental health care for members — healthy.kaiserpermanente.org.
- University of Washington Behavioral Research and Therapy Clinics, "Marsha Linehan, PhD, ABPP" — depts.washington.edu.
- Linehan MM, Armstrong HE, Suarez A, Allmon D, Heard HL, "Cognitive-behavioral treatment of chronically parasuicidal borderline patients," Archives of General Psychiatry 48(12), 1991, 1060–1064 — pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov.
- Linehan MM, Korslund KE, Harned MS, et al., "Dialectical behavior therapy for high suicide risk in individuals with borderline personality disorder: a randomized clinical trial and component analysis," JAMA Psychiatry 72(5), 2015, 475–482 — pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov.
- Carey B, "Expert on Mental Illness Reveals Her Own Fight," New York Times, June 23, 2011 — nytimes.com.
- Linehan MM, Building a Life Worth Living: A Memoir, Random House, 2020 — penguinrandomhouse.com.
- McCauley E, Berk MS, Asarnow JR, et al., "Efficacy of dialectical behavior therapy for adolescents at high risk for suicide: a randomized clinical trial," JAMA Psychiatry 75(8), 2018, 777–785 — pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov.
Program sources, each read November 13, 2026: Awake DBT · Bay Area Mental Health · CHC RISE · CHC skills groups · DBT Center of Silicon Valley · El Camino ASPIRE · Evolve San Jose · Silicon Valley DBT · South Bay DBT · Stanford Adult DBT · Stanford Adolescent DBT · The Wise Mind Institute · Bay Area CBT Center · Edgewood · San Francisco DBT Center · Wavefront, UCSF · Hilary Ferris White · Oakland DBT and Mindfulness Center · Pacific DBT Collaborative · ClearWater Clinic · Evolve Danville outpatient · Evolve Lafayette · Evolve Walnut Creek · Evolve Danville residential · Fremont Hospital · John Muir Health · Mt. Diablo Psychological Services · Wright Institute · Guidepost DBT · MarinHealth ASPIRE · Muir Wood Teen · Providence Santa Rosa.
Clinical review is not yet claimed.
Paid for by participating therapists. Inclusion is computed from each program's own website — never purchased. No ads, no data sold.