Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT) PGDip Postgraduate Taught - September 2025/26* Entry

The post-graduate diploma provides a unique opportunity to gain a post-graduate qualification in DBT which will provide eligibility for accreditation as a therapist with the Society for DBT in the UK and Ireland.  The programme is provided in partnership with the internationally recognized British Isles DBT Training Team, who are Tier 1 affiliates of the Linehan Institute.  Through this programme, students will receive training and consultation from national and international experts in DBT, and in its two core components Mindfulness and Applied Behaviour Analysis.  During the course you will be taught how to set up and deliver a DBT programme, learn all the strategies of the treatment and deliver them in your clinical practice with expert guidance and feedback as you progress. 

Given the partnership nature of the programme, all applications for the PG Dip in DBT are processed through BIDBT.  To register your interest and start your application process, please email pgdip@dbt-training.co.uk 

What will you study on this course?

The PG Dip in DBT comprises five modules.

In Year 1, you will study PHP 4200, Theories and Principles of DBT, a thirty-credit residential module that introduces you to the underpinning philosophies and theories of the treatment. This module also leads you the process of setting up a DBT programme and commencing the treatment of clients using the treatment.

PHP 4201 follows and emphasizes the Clinical Applications of DBT. In this module, which is also residential and thirty credits, you refine your skills in DBT case conceptualization and the delivery of the treatment, both at a programmatic and an individual therapy level. 

To complete the diploma, you then must complete three further twenty-credit modules that you can study in one year or spread over a further two years.

PMP 4015 Mindfulness in Individual Therapy helps you develop your skills in understanding the essence of mindfulness, a core pillar of DBT, and its application in individual therapy. This is also a residential module and part of the module will be run as a mindfulness retreat.

To develop your skills in Applied Behavioural Analysis, that underpins the problem-solving component of DBT, you will study by distance learning one of two modules (PLP 4001 or PLP 4003) which will introduce you to the core elements of behaviourism, functional analysis and their application in clinical practice.

The final module PHP4202, Advanced Clinical Skills in DBT, consists of two, two-day residential modules enhancing your application of DBT skills and strategies within your individual therapy, your DBT programme and your Consultation Team. Part of this module requires you to source and pay for 20 hours of DBT supervision of your clinical practice. Guidance in finding a supervisor will be provided. 

Applicants:

• Must be employed by a healthcare organisation that expects them to be seeing clients 
• Must be registered to practice with a regulatory professional body e.g. Health Professions Council, General Medical Council, Nursing & Midwifery Council, Professional Standards Authority. 

If a person does not have a professional registration but they have been employed in a role for two years that requires that they deliver psychological interventions under supervision, we will consider them for training provided their clinical supervisor is part of the DBT team and is Intensively Trained and is registered with a professional body.  

Applicants will be expected to be delivering a minimum of 2 days a week to the delivery of DBT in their clinical practice.  

• IELTS standard: 6.5 

Successful graduates of the PG Diploma will be eligible to apply for accreditation with the Society for DBT enabling them to deliver DBT within public and private sector healthcare organisations across the UK and Ireland.  The components of the diploma can also be used to fulfil part of the requirements to become a BABCP accredited CBT therapist. 

All applications for the PG Dip in DBT are processed through BIDBT.  To register your interest and start your application process, please email pgdip@dbt-training.co.uk