Preparing Professionals to Assess and Respond to Suicide Risk

Michigan, US

Gwen Abney-Cunningham, LMSW, is currently the Director of Faculty Relations at Behavioral Tech. In this role she ensures that those providing training and consulting on behalf of BTECH do so with the most current information available and employ the most effective methods in their endeavors, Gwen also provides training and consultation to mental health professionals in empirically supported behavioral treatments. She facilitates and/or co facilitates workshops teaching Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) to various audiences across the world, including state and county mental health systems.

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 34 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 is currently serving on the curriculum development team and Behavioral Tech Trainer Advisory Committee. She has also served on the Behavioral Tech Implementation Science Workgroup.