Research at DBT Works
Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) is a psychological intervention developed through - and grounded in - scientific research.
Rigorous, randomized control trials show that adults and adolescents who engage in adherent, comprehensive DBT have larger reductions in self-injurious thoughts and behaviors and improvements in emotion regulation compared to those who don’t (Adults: Linehan et al., 1991; Linehan et al., 2006; Pistorello et al., 2012; for review see DeCou et al., 2019) (Adolescents: McCauley et al., 2018; Melhum et al., 2014; Goldstein et al., 2022; for review see Glenn et al., 2019, Esposito et al., 2026, Kothgassner et al., 2021).
These research studies are how we know DBT works.
We make a commitment to data-driven clinical care
Client-centered care at DBT Works includes a broader commitment to data-driven clinical care and program evaluation in several different ways:
(1) Clinical staff stay up-to-date on the latest research through attending conferences and reading articles published in peer-reviewed journals.
(2) In addition to individually-tailored daily diary cards, clients also complete validated assessments (e.g., surveys, interviews) to systematically capture changes in their experiences over a wider time window (e.g, weeks, months). This routine progress monitoring shows “big picture” changes across a range of areas (e.g., emotion regulation, skills use), which can then be integrated with information from daily diary cards and in-session discussions to identify relevant secondary targets for each individual client.
(3) The routine progress monitoring described above is also used to look at patterns and outcomes for each comprehensive DBT program individually and at DBT Works, LLC as a whole. This helps us ensure that our treatment programs are effective and supports our goal of data-driven clinical and programmatic decision making.
DBT Works is also committed to contributing to the larger DBT research-base. This includes presenting at conferences, publishing in peer-reviewed journals, engaging in the peer review process as reviewers, applying for research grant funding, and engaging in research partnerships.
Selected DBT Works Scholarship:
Buckley, O., Melas, M. T., & Esposito, E. C. (2025, November 20-23). Exploring self-validation as a mechanism of change underlying emotion dysregulation treatment effects: A pilot study of youth in an intensive dialectical behavior therapy day program [Poster presentation]. Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies 59th Annual Meeting. New Orleans, LA, United States.
Esposito, E. C., Patel, K. K., Hull, S., Johnson, C. N., Patel, M. A., & Glenn, C. R. (2026). Evidence base update of psychosocial treatments for self-injurious thoughts and behaviors in youth: 2018-2024. Journal of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology, 1-38. https://doi.org/10.1080/15374416.2026.261336
Ruiz, M. C., & Yadlosky, L. B. (2025). The dialectical dilemmas in DBT: A primer. Cognitive and Behavioral Practice. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cbpra.2025.04.003
We are actively pursuing research partnerships.
Interested?
Email Erika C. Esposito, PhD, Director of Research & Program Evaluation: eesposito@dbtworks.com