Support Student Mental Health with Proven DBT Skills
Today's students are facing more emotional challenges than ever. DBT in Schools equips educators with the tools to teach emotional regulation, resilience, and relationship-building — before students are in crisis.
🔹 Evidence-based Curriculum
🔹 Ready-to-Use Tools
🔹 Practical, School-Friendly Training
New for Elementary: DBT STEPS-E
A complete DBT skills curriculum designed for K–2 and 3–5 students, giving your school the tools to build resilience from the very start.
The long-awaited STEPS-E manual is now available for preorder! Tailored specifically for elementary classrooms, STEPS-E adapts DBT skills to meet younger learners where they are developmentally. Together with STEPS-A, it creates a K–12 continuum of evidence-based skills that prepares students for success in school, relationships, and life.
STEPS-E Manual: $62
Bundle Deal: Get STEPS-E + STEPS-A for only $84.95 (regularly $130)
Manuals ship March 13, 2026
Trainings begin March 2026—registration opens soon
WHAT IS
DBT IN SCHOOLS?
DBT STEPS-A is a curriculum that is derived from the skills portion of Dialectical Behavior Therapy.
DBT in Schools, LLC has taken the skills portion of DBT and created a curriculum that can be taught in schools at the classroom level. You can think of these skills as life skills to be utilized when emotions take control …on the soccer field, during a recital, or navigating life.
Dialectical behavior therapy (DBT) is a cognitive behavioral treatment that was originally developed to treat chronically suicidal individuals diagnosed with borderline personality disorder (BPD) and it is now recognized as the gold standard psychological treatment for this population. In addition, research has shown that it is effective in treating a wide range of other disorders such as substance dependence, depression, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and eating disorders. As such, DBT is a transdiagnostic, modular treatment.
The term “dialectical” means a synthesis or integration of opposites. The primary dialectic within DBT is between the seemingly opposite strategies of acceptance and change. For example, DBT therapists accept clients as they are while also acknowledging that they need to change to reach their goals. In addition, the skills and strategies taught in DBT are balanced in terms of acceptance and change. The four skills modules include two sets of acceptance-oriented skills (mindfulness and distress tolerance) and two sets of change-oriented skills (emotion regulation and interpersonal effectiveness).
There are four components of comprehensive DBT: skills training group, individual treatment, DBT phone coaching, and consultation team.
Prevention Over Reaction: A Better Way Forward
Our mental health and education systems too often wait until students are in crisis to offer help. DBT in Schools changes that.
We bring DBT STEPS-A — a DBT skills-based curriculum, designed specifically for schools — directly into the hands of teachers, counselors, and administrators.
Students learn skills to:
Handle stress and overwhelming emotions
Communicate needs clearly
Make effective decisions
Build healthy relationships
Training Opportunities
Trainings Designed for Counselors, Teachers, and Adminstrators.
We offer virtual and in-person trainings to help your team implement the DBT STEPS-A with confidence.
✔️ Flexible live sessions
✔️ CE credits for educators
✔️ School counseling & SEL focused
Start Using DBT Skills in Your School Today
Access a growing library of free classroom tools, videos, and lesson materials.
📎 Handouts & Worksheets
📽 Video Guides
🧩 Posters & Visual Aids
🧠 Lesson Planning Support
DBT Skills For Every Teen
Building social emotional wellness and resiliency in schools.
Browse the DBT STEPS-A curriculum and see how schools around the world are translating this work across languages and cultures.
Don’t Just Take Our Word For It
“I was unsure how a three day training would be, but you did a great job of keeping us entertained and engaged with the content of the presentations. You made us feel comfortable and have provided us with some very valuable tools!”
“The training was again very strong. Your ability to read us remotely and make adjustments to your presentation shows not only knowledge of your content, but a genuine desire for us to get the most out of this training. Thank you so much for being flexible and dynamic. I am looking forward to digging deep with this curriculum through the year and improving my students’ mental health through the year and beyond.”
“Once again, you were a fabulous presenter and I am SUPER impressed by the amount of energy you exhibited throughout the training, especially considering we began at 5:00 AM your time! Your ability to incorporate responses of the audience is fantastic! You really make the importance of this visible to everyone, despite the discipline they teach daily. I enjoyed every minute!”
“This training gave me ideas on how to reach students in crisis and how to give them the skills to rationalize their emotions and communicate their intent/desire.”
