Meet the Team: Experienced DBT Clinicians Committed to Your Growth
Introduction & My Unique Path:
Welcome to DBT Center Chicago! I’m Brittany, your dedicated Intake Coordinator. I’m often the first person you’ll connect with, and my goal is to make getting started feel clear, supportive, and human. My background in medical sociology and holistic health has shaped my appreciation for both evidence-based care and the lived experience of healing.
My Connection to DBT:
My introduction to DBT was deeply personal and shaped by my own health challenges. Through that process, I saw how structured, skills-based approaches can support resilience and meaningful change. This perspective guides how I support clients as they explore whether DBT is the right fit for them.
Life Beyond the Calls:
Outside of work, I value practices that support balance and curiosity, including meditation, learning, and wellness-focused routines. I bring that same grounded, thoughtful energy into my role at DBT Center Chicago.
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A Quick Introduction:
Hello, I’m Hannah, the Clinical Director at DBT Center Chicago and a DBT-Linehan Board of Certification–certified clinician. In my role, I oversee clinical quality, supervision, and training, ensuring that our team delivers adherent, high-quality DBT care. My background spans crisis intervention, substance use treatment, and comprehensive DBT, with a strong focus on serving both clients and clinicians with clarity and integrity.
DBT and Me:
My connection to DBT is both personal and professional. Having long navigated intense emotions myself, I experienced DBT as a structured, compassionate approach that fosters balance, resilience, and meaningful change. This perspective informs how I lead, supervise, and practice DBT — with an emphasis on skills-based care, collaboration, and sustainability.
Life Beyond the Therapy Room:
Outside of work, I’m an advocate within the LGBTQ community and value spaces that support authenticity and connection. I enjoy memoirs, history documentaries, Broadway soundtracks, and time with my cat. These interests reflect my belief in the importance of humor, curiosity, and meaningful relationships, both in and out of the therapy room.
Introducing Lena:
Hi, I’m Lena, a Licensed Clinical Social Worker at DBT Center Chicago. I’m deeply committed to expanding access to high-quality mental health care and work with clients across a range of clinical needs, with particular focus on supporting QTBI POC individuals. My experience includes intake, crisis management, and ongoing therapeutic work, and I strive to create a space that is affirming, collaborative, and grounded.
My Approach to DBT:
My path to DBT grew out of my work with queer and bicultural communities in settings where validation and understanding were often limited. DBT’s emphasis on acceptance, change, and skills-based support resonated deeply with both my clinical values and lived experience. I approach therapy with a balance of structure and warmth, blending evidence-based DBT with empathy, humor, and curiosity.
Beyond the Therapy Room:
Outside of work, I value community, creativity, and rest. I enjoy video games, quiet, reflective time alone, and staying connected with others in ways that support balance and sustainability. These interests inform how I think about care — as something that honors both connection and individual needs.
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Introducing Sarah:
Hi, I’m Sarah, a Licensed Social Worker at DBT Center Chicago. My goal is to provide high-quality, collaborative, evidence-based care to individuals across the full range of human experience. I have a particular focus on supporting the LGBTQ+ community and am affirming of all genders, sexualities, and alternative relationship structures. My background includes crisis intervention and assessment, as well as work with substance use, self-harm, and suicidality. I enjoy helping clients build practical skills to navigate intense emotions and create meaningful change in their lives.
My Connection to DBT:
My connection to DBT is both personal and professional. In a society where strong emotions are often viewed negatively, DBT stands out as a model grounded in acceptance, compassion, and meaningful change. It has made a valuable difference in my own life, and I have seen firsthand how powerfully it can support people who are willing to engage with the work.
Life Beyond the Therapy Room:
Outside of work, I love to read, knit, play video games, and keep up with television and movies, especially the Bravoverse and horror. I enjoy spending time at home with my pets, including my cat Barbra Streisand, and with the people I love. Rest is important to me, and so is making room for humor and fun in everyday life.
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Introducing Kate:
Hi, I’m Kate, a licensed clinical psychologist and the founder of DBT Center Chicago. I specialize in comprehensive, adherent DBT and am committed to care that is both evidence-based and deeply human.
DBT Philosophy & Leadership:
As a DBT-Linehan Board of Certification–certified clinician, my work is grounded in the highest standards of DBT practice. For me, DBT is more than a treatment model — it is a philosophy that resonates deeply with my lived experience of intense emotions and informs how I approach therapy, supervision, and leadership.
As Executive Director, my role is to ensure that our team delivers care that is adherent, effective, and responsive to the real lives of the people we serve. My training includes comprehensive DBT through Behavioral Tech, founded by Dr. Marsha Linehan, and advanced mentorship in DBT-PE under Dr. Melanie Harned. These experiences continue to shape my work as a clinician, supervisor, and leader.
Life Beyond the Therapy Room:
Outside of work, much of my life revolves around reading, movies, and caring for my two high-energy rescue dogs. They keep me active, grounded, and challenged, and caring for them has become a meaningful part of my daily life. I love films of all kinds — especially horror — and humor and comedy have long been important to me and influence how I show up in my work. These interests help me stay curious, connected, and balanced in the midst of a full and demanding life.
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