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DBT Phone Coaching
Live, Remote, Instructor-led
September 25, 2025
Trainers: Alex Chapman, PhD, R.Psych and Gwen Abney-Cunningham, LMSW
Training Description
Purpose: This training addresses core principles and approaches that clinicians need to effectively incorporate DBT phone coaching into their practice.
Content: The training reviews (a) how phone coaching fits into standard DBT, (b) the functions phone coaching services, (c) how to help clients generalize skills to everyday life, (d) how to effectively prepare for and get started with phone coaching, (e) effective skills coaching principles and approaches, and (f) ways to effectively address suicidal and therapy-interfering behavior in the context of phone coaching.
Length & Schedule: This training will occur synchronously, delivered either remotely (e.g., Zoom) or in-person. The workshop will occur via a (a) a full-day training consisting of 6 hours of training, with two 15-minute breaks and a 60 minute lunch break, or two half-day trainings of 3 hours each, including 15 minute breaks.
For Whom: The intended audience for this training includes clinicians with intermediate familiarity with comprehensive, standard DBT. Before enrolling in this training, clinicians must have completed the equivalent of 30-40 hours of formal, foundational training in DBT. This foundational training should have covered DBT theory, assumptions, principles, and structure; the four modes of DBT; core assessment strategies (e.g., chain analysis); core behavior change strategies (e.g., contingency management, skills training, cognitive modification, exposure strategies); DBT dialectical and stylistic strategies; skills training; and principles/approaches for the assessment and management of suicide risk.
Core Training Description:
This one-day training covers essential principles and strategies to help clinicians effectively navigate phone coaching in dialectical behavior therapy (DBT; Linehan, 1993a; 2015). Phone coaching (also referred to as telephone consultation) is one of the four components of standard, comprehensive DBT, along with weekly individual therapy, group skills training, and the therapist consultation team.
The primary aim of phone coaching is to help clients generalize behaviors and skills they are learning in DBT to situations in their everyday lives. When a client is having difficulty determining which skills to use or how to use them, they can reach out to their individual therapist for skills coaching. The individual therapist helps their client determine when and how to use skills to navigate challenging everyday life situations.
Although phone coaching is usually brief and effective, perhaps not surprisingly, this component of DBT raises concerns and worries among many clinicians. Clinicians often are unsure how they would navigate distressed client calls, remain available to their clients without interfering with their personal lives or walking down the path to burnout, or manage suicidal crisis calls.
The training will include a variety of learning activities, including didactic presentations, live and video demonstrations of core strategies, active practice exercises, and experiential exercises.
Schedule
September 25, 2025
7:00am – 2:30pm Pacific Time / 9:00am-4:30pm Central Time / 10:00am-5:30pm Eastern Time
Sign-In from 6:30am – 7:00am Pacific Time / 8:30am-9:00am Central Time / 9:30am-10:00am Eastern Time
Trainers
Alexander Chapman, PhD, R.Psych
Alexander L. Chapman, PhD, RPsych., is a professor, director of clinical training, and clinical science area coordinator in the psychology department at Simon Fraser University. Dr. Chapman completed his B.A. at U.B.C., his M.S. and Ph.D. in clinical psychology at Idaho State University (APA accredited), and his predoctoral internship at Duke University Medical Center. After completing a post-doc at the University of Washington with Dr. Marsha M. Linehan, he joined the faculty at SFU in 2005, where he established the Personality and Emotion Research Laboratory (PERL). Dr. Chapman’s research at the PERL focuses on complex psychopathology characterized by emotion regulation problems, such as borderline personality disorder (BPD), self-injury, and related areas. Dr. Chapman has received over $4 million in external and internal funding for translational and treatment outcome research. He was Co-PI for the largest randomized trial of dialectical behaviour therapy (DBT) to date, comparing 6- to 12-months of DBT for chronically self-harming/suicidal patients with BPD. He has authored/co-authored over 100 refereed journal articles/book chapters and 12 books.
Dr. Chapman has received the Young Investigator’s Award of the National Alliance for BPD (2007), the Canadian Psychological Association’s Early Career Scientist Practitioner Award (2011), and an 8-year Career Investigator Award (2012-2019) from the Michael Smith Foundation for Health Research. At SFU, Dr. Chapman received a Dean’s Medal for Academic Excellence in 2017 and a Retention Award in 2019. In addition, he is a Fellow of the Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies and the Canadian Association for Cognitive and Behavioural Therapies (CACBT).
Dr. Chapman is actively involved in university, academic, and community service. In his department, he has held service appointments continuously (excepting study leaves) since 2008, serving as associate chair (graduate), clinical science area coordinator, and director of clinical training. Actively involved in journal and grant peer-review process, Dr. Chapman is a member of the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) College of Reviewers, associate editor of the Journal of Cognitive Psychotherapy, and a standing committee member for a CIHR grant committee. He serves as Certification Chair and as a member of the board of directors for the CACBT. In addition, Dr. Chapman regularly gives talks, workshops, and trainings and consults with community mental health clinicians, and is on the test-writing committee for the DBT-Linehan Board of Certification.
Dr. Chapman is a registered psychologist with expertise in the assessment and treatment of complex mental health concerns, such as BPD, suicide risk, and self-injury. He co- founded the DBT Centre of Vancouver, a treatment centre emphasizing the care of people with complex mental health problems, from an evidence-based CBT and DBT perspective. Dr. Chapman greatly enjoys teaching and training clinicians and students in effective treatments for complex clinical problems. He has many years of experience training and consulting for multi-year projects to implement DBT across large correctional and community mental health systems. He also is board-certified in both cognitive behavioural therapy (CACBT) and DBT (Linehan Board). Outside of work, Dr. Chapman has extensive experience with mindfulness and martial arts. He enjoys outdoor activities, reading, and time with his wife, two sons, and his dog, Charlie.
Gwen Abney-Cunningham, LMSW
Kalamazoo, MI (United States)
Gwen Abney-Cunningham, LMSW, is currently a fulltime Behavioral Tech consultant and trainer. Prior to coming to Behavioral Tech full time, she was employed at a community mental health agency for 32 years, in many roles, including; DBT Services Supervisor, Outpatient Services Director, and most recently as Evidenced Based Treatment Director. Gwen received her bachelor’s degree from Hope College and her MSW from Grand Valley State University. She has 30 plus years of professional experience and is a member of one of the first teams in the U.S. to apply DBT within an ACT program. Gwen is intensively trained in DBT and an experienced workshop leader at state, national, and international conferences. Gwen continues to work as a DBT therapist because it is effective and the hope it brings to clients and their families. As a BTECH Trainer and consultant, she is also able to assist many mental health providers in learning the treatment to assist in helping many individuals.
Gwen’s experience in DBT includes individual and skills training for adults, adolescents and families and providing DBT supervision to clinicians. In addition, she has assisted in the development and implementation of DBT on ACT teams and in outpatient settings. Gwen has been involved with the large-scale implementations of DBT in Michigan for Community Mental Health settings. She has been a Behavioral Tech trainer for 20 plus years. Gwen has also served on the Behavioral Tech Trainer Advisory Committee and the Behavioral Tech Implementation Science Workgroup.
Prerequisites
The intended audience for this training includes clinicians with intermediate familiarity with comprehensive, standard DBT. Before enrolling in this training, clinicians must have completed the equivalent of 30-40 hours of formal, foundational training in DBT. This foundational training should have covered DBT theory, assumptions, principles, and structure; the four modes of DBT; core assessment strategies (e.g., chain analysis); core behavior change strategies (e.g., contingency management, skills training, cognitive modification, exposure strategies); DBT dialectical and stylistic strategies; skills training; and principles/approaches for the assessment and management of suicide risk.
Study Resources
Primary texts required for DBT training:
- Chapman, A. L. (2019). Phone coaching in dialectical behavior therapy. New York: The Guilford Press.
- Linehan, M. M. (1993). Cognitive-behavioral treatment of borderline personality disorder. Guilford Press.
Supplemental Readings:
- Landes, S.J., Matthieu, M.M, Smith, B.M., McBain, S.A., & Ray, E.S. (2021). Challenges and potential solutions to implementing phone coaching in dialectical behavior therapy. Cognitive and Behavioral Practice, 28, 66-76. doi: 10.1016/j.cbpra.2019.10.005.
- Yepez-Coello, F., et al. (2024). Suicide risk assessment with marginalized clients: A guide for independent practitioners. Practice innovations. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1037/pri0000266.
Attend
Tuition Information
- Early Bird Tuition: $425 per participant (U.S. dollars) Ends July 29, 2025
- Standard Tuition: $475 per participant (U.S. dollars)
- Registration will close when all seats are sold, or on September 18, 2025 (final cut-off date).
IMPORTANT: Two weeks prior to the training, participants will receive an email from our Online Portal (powered by Thinkific) with a sign-in URL for this training. Please follow the instructions in the email to log in to our Online Portal and set your password, one week before the training.
Participants will retain access to the online course until 1 month after the last training session date. All course requirements must be completed before course access expires.
Please email support@behavioraltech.org if you have any questions about accessing your training.
Cancellations, Substitutions and Refunds
For a complete list of Behavioral Tech policies and limits of liability, see our Sales & Refund Policy page.
Technical Requirements
- Our Online Portal (powered by Thinkific) will be used to host the live Zoom sessions and share supplemental materials. All Live-Remote Trainings require each participant to have:
- A high-speed Internet Service Connection with a minimum speed of 5Mbps. Test your internet speed.
- The most recent version of any of the following web-browsers: Google Chrome, Firefox , Safari , Microsoft Edge (Please note Internet Explorer will not be supported)
- Web-browser configurations must have Javascript enabled and popup blockers disabled.
- The following software applications: Zoom, Microsoft Word, Microsoft Excel, A PDF reader such as Adobe Acrobat Reader, or the ability to view PDFs in a web-browser. To test your internet connection, camera, and microphone for Zoom, you can use Zoom’s testing application.
- No firewall restrictions. If a firewall is installed, please be aware that may interfere with the training content and materials, as it may be blocked. Please include the following 3rd party services to trusted sites list(s):
- Thinkific Learning Management System: https://behavioraltech.thinkific.com/
- SurveyMonkey: https://www.surveymonkey.com/
- Zoom: https://zoom.us/
Continuing Education
This offering meets the requirements for the following hours by discipline. Licensing and continuing education requirements vary by state. Please contact your state’s regulatory authority to verify if this course meets your licensing or continuing education requirements. Inquiries regarding CE for other disciplines not listed may be directed to Behavioral Tech at (206) 675-8589 or via email to support@behavioraltech.org. And for general CE questions, you can review answers to continuing education FAQs or contact us.
CE NOTE: Behavioral Tech calculates the continuing education credits for this training by the start time and end time. 100 percent attendance is required, as is signing IN and OUT each morning and afternoon, to receive CE credits. Only participants with 100% attendance, and who have completed the Post-Event Evaluation and passed their Final Exam with a score of 75% or higher will receive credit. Behavioral Tech cannot offer partial credit. Please remember to sign in and sign out each day to document your attendance. Continuing Education documentation will be emailed to you 4-6 weeks after the last day of training.
Alcohol and Drug Abuse Counselors
Behavioral Tech is approved by NAADAC – the Association for Addiction Professionals, Provider #77431. You will receive a letter via email documenting your attendance upon successful completion of the activity. The allotted contact hours for this activity = 6.
Mental Health Counselors
Behavioral Tech is approved by an NBCC-Approved Continuing Education Provider (ACEP™) and may offer NBCC-approved clock hours for events that meet NBCC requirements. The ACEP solely is responsible for all aspects of the program.
Behavioral Tech will email you a letter documenting your attendance upon the successful completion of the activity. The allocated clock hours for this activity = 6.
Nurses
Behavioral Tech is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education to provide continuing medical education for physicians. Nurses should only claim credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity. Continuing Medical Education is accepted by the ANCC for nursing certification renewal. The maximum AMA PRA Category 1 Credits™ designated by Behavioral Tech for this activity = 6.
Psychiatrists
Behavioral Tech is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education to provide continuing medical education for physicians. Physicians should only claim credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity. The maximum AMA PRA Category 1 Credits™ designated by Behavioral Tech for this activity = 6.
Psychologists
Behavioral Tech is approved by the American Psychological Association to offer continuing education for psychologists. Behavioral Tech maintains responsibility for the program and its content. Behavioral Tech will email you a letter documenting your attendance after the successful completion of the program and homework. The number of hours Behavioral Tech has allocated for this activity = 6.
Psychologists – New York
Behavioral Tech is recognized by the New York State Education Department’s State Board for Psychology as an approved provider of continuing education for licensed psychologists, #PSY-0063. Behavioral Tech will email a certificate of attendance upon 100% completion of this activity. The total contact hour allocated for this activity = 6.
Social Workers- Washington
Behavioral Tech will apply to the NASW, Washington State Chapter, Provider Number 1975-166, to offer continuing education for Certified Social Workers. Behavioral Tech will email a certificate of attendance upon 100% completion of this activity. The hours of CE allocated for this activity = 6.
Social Workers – New York
Behavioral Tech is approved by recognized by the New York State Education Department’s State Board for Social Work as an approved provider of continuing education for licensed social workers, #0040. Behavioral Tech will email a letter documenting attendance to participants with 100% completion of the program and homework. The hours allocated for this activity = 6.
General CE/CME Disclosures and Policies
Conflict of interest definition: A conflict of interest may be considered to exist if a continuing education course faculty is affiliated with, or has any significant financial interest, in any organization(s) that may have a direct interest in the subject matter of the presentation or may be co-sponsoring or offering financial support to the course. Situations involving a potential conflict of interest are not inherently bad or wrong, but in accordance with standards for continuing medical education we would like you to be aware of the affiliation/financial interest of your instructors.
Faculty Disclaimer: When an unlabeled use of a commercial product, or an investigative use not yet approved for any purpose is discussed during an educational activity, we shall require the speaker to disclose that the product is not labeled for the use under discussion or that the product is still investigative.
Notice of requirements for successful completion: For all trainings (both in-person and remote), participants must attend 100% of the training and complete the Final Evaluation to receive a certificate of successful completion. This includes signing in and out each day/session of the event. For remote, Instructor-led online training, participants have to pass the Post Assessment(s) with a score of 75% or higher.
Commercial support or sponsorship: There is no commercial company support for this CME/CE event.
Noncommercial Sponsor Support: There is no noncommercial sponsor support for this CME/CE activity.
Non-Endorsement of Products: The Behavioral Tech approval status refers only to continuing education activities and does not imply that there is real or implied endorsement of any product, service, or company referred to in this activity nor of any company subsidizing costs related to the activity.
Off-Label Product Use: This CME/CE activity does not include any unannounced information about off-label use of a product for a purpose other than that for which it was approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
Disclosure of Relevant Financial Relationships: Faculty members are required to disclose all conflicts of interest and any relevant financial relationships that may affect the training content. Unless specified on Behavioral Tech’s website or on other printed materials/media, none of the individuals in a position to control the content of this CE/CME activity (including planners, editors, CE/CME Review Committee members, faculty presenters, moderators/facilitators, reviewers, etc.) have any relevant financial relationships to disclose.
CE Reprint Policy: For missing/lost CE documentation, an administrative fee of $50 is required for all CE/CME activities after 2017. For CE reprints prior to 2017, please refer to the website or contact support@behavioraltech.org. Please refer to the CE FAQ webpage: https://behavioraltech.org/resources/faqs/continuing-education/.
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