Please follow the instructions below to submit and application.

New eligibility requirements: Due to a high demand for our services, CHA is prioritizing appointments for patients who are either enrolled in Primary Care at CHA or are residents of our service area (Cambridge, Chelsea, Everett, Malden, Revere, Somerville, and Winthrop, MA). If you or your child do not meet these criteria, our staff may be able to assist you in finding a referral service.

STEP 1:

IF CLIENT HAS A THERAPIST, then the therapist fills out a DBT Referral Form:

1. If client is being seen at Cambridge Health Alliance, email form to Matthew Leeds, PhD, and Martha Sweezy, PhD. To follow up on a DBT referral, please contact Dr. Leeds at 617-575-5373

2. If client is not currently seen at the Alliance and referral is being sent from outside the system, then print the DBT Referral Form and mail to: Matthew Leeds, PhD, 26 Central Street, Somerville, MA 02143 or fax referral to 617-591-6029.

In addition, if client is not currently seen at the Alliance and if Dr. Leeds agrees it would be appropriate for this individual to pursue participation in the DBT program, then client must call to make an appointment for a General Psychiatry Intake Evaluation (617-591-6033). A general Psychiatry Intake Evaluation is a prerequisite for participation in the Dialectical Behavioral Therapy Program.

IF CLIENT DOES NOT HAVE A THERAPIST, then client should call to make an appointment for a General Psychiatry Intake Evaluation (617-591-6033) and mention an interest in the DBT program with a goal of assessing whether DBT is the best treatment option.

PLEASE NOTE: Applicants should be aware at the outset that the commitment in this DBT program is one year of both a weekly skills group and an individual therapy that follows the DBT protocol.

STEP 2:

Call Dr. Matthew Leeds (617-575-5377) to schedule a DBT intake evaluation.

STEP 3:

Sign up for the next DBT Pre-Commitment group, a 1-session informational group to orient individuals interested in DBT before they commit to a year of treatment. This group occurs on the third Thursday of every month from 1 – 2 pm, 3rd floor, 26 Central Street. CHA clinicians can send a referral form to Dr. Lees and schedule patients for this group directly.

STEP 4:

After meeting with Dr. Leeds and completing the Pre-Commitment group, individuals are on a waiting list. A rough estimate of the current wait time to begin in a DBT group is 3 months (the actual wait time may be less or more than that).

STEP 5:

Assignment to a DBT skills group and (as soon as possible) an individual DBT therapist.

Individuals who have a DBT trained therapist outside of the Cambridge Health Alliance system can discuss the option of continuing in that treatment.

DBT individual therapists at Cambridge Health Alliance usually sit on a DBT treatment team that meets weekly, and the final decision to waive the requirement that clients see a Cambridge Health Alliance individual DBT therapist will be made by the Alliance's DBT staff.

DBT GROUPS

1. DBT Groups

Wednesday, 10:00-11:40 AM: For women only, co-led by Matthew Leeds, PhD and Linda Hutton, PsyD

Friday, 9:00-10:40 AM: For women and men, lead by Matthew Leeds, PhD

2. Advanced DBT groups (Prerequisite for advanced groups - graduation from a DBT group at Cambridge Health Alliance and space in the group.)

Tuesday, 3:00-4:30 PM, ongoing, women only.

3. DBT-Informed Skills Groups (These groups are in the Outpatient Psychiatry Department and DO NOT require clients to be in an individual DBT therapy)

Thursdays 4:00 - 5:30 PM at 26 Central Street: For women who do not self-injure, attempt suicide, abuse substances or make significant use of emergency rooms or inpatient units. This group may include graduates from a one-year DBT skills group who wish to consolidate and extend their skills practice. It is an "intermediate" group. All participants must be in an individual therapy, but DBT individual therapy is not required. Commitment is for 6 months. As individuals graduate, new members will come in. Please contact Chris Carter-Husk, LICSW, with referrals.
- If emailing from outside CHA, please do not use client names or information, just send a query asking for further contact.
- If emailing from inside CHA, please describe why client is appropriate for this group given the inclusion criteria, the client's goals for treatment, diagnosis and insurance. A half-hour screening interview will be scheduled.

Fridays 5:00 - 6:30 PM at 26 Central Street: For men & women who do not self-injure, attempt suicide, abuse substances or make significant use of emergency rooms or inpatient units. This group may include graduates from a one-year DBT skills group who wish to consolidate and extend their skills practice. It is an "intermediate" group. All participants must be in an individual therapy, but DBT individual therapy is not required. Commitment is for 6 months. As individuals graduate new members will come in.