APT-Accredited DBT training in Belfast.

The Association for Psychological Therapies (APT) is a leading provider of Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT) training for professionals working in mental health and related areas.

We can deliver any of the following APT-Accredited DBT courses in 3 formats, making the training easily accessible to professionals based in Belfast. It is the only DBT training that is APT accredited and gives access to APT’s downloadable resources for use post-course. The formats available are:

Onsite - we bring the training to you for a group of up to 15 people, either face-to-face or 'online live'.

Online Anytime - study at your own pace, receiving the same credits as live training.*

Open - attend any of the courses as an individual, 'online live' via Zoom.

*DBT Essentials only

The following courses are available:

The Association for Psychological Therapies (APT) provides the following training in Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT) .

DBT Essentials.

A 3-day course.
Availability: onsite, open, online (live & anytime).

Instruction in the key components of DBT for those who want to add them to their repertoire without necessarily becoming 'a DBT therapist', and for those thinking of taking the first step in becoming a specialised DBT therapist.

DBT brings together a series of skills and techniques which are powerful and well chosen ones, for working with personality disorder as well as in other areas. Many people want to familiarise themselves with these skills without necessarily becoming a DBT therapist exclusively, and this 3-day course is for you if you are one of those people as well as if you are thinking of taking the first step in becoming a DBT therapist. As well as covering the 'overall concept of DBT', it covers its 'essential elements', namely the concepts of: Validation; Metaphor; Relentless Problem Solving; and Contingency Management, and the skills of: Mindfulness; Distress Tolerance; Interpersonal Effectiveness; and Emotional Regulation.

Find out more Booking options

Running DBT Skills-Development Groups.

A 3-day course.
Availability: onsite, open, online live.

Running skills development groups is an important part of becoming proficient in DBT, and this course provides the coaching and practice to develop such skills.

This course lasts 3 days and is all about learning how to run groups for your clients to help them become skilled in key areas of relevance for them. The rationale is that patients need not only to be motivated, gain insights and knowledge etc, but usually also need to acquire skills in; Mindfulness, Interpersonal Effectiveness, Emotion Regulation, and Distress tolerance.

Find out more Booking options

The DBT Masterclass.

A 4-day course.
Availability: onsite, open, online live.

By attending the DBT Masterclass you are expected to substantially develop both your knowledge of DBT and your skills.

The major teaching techniques on this course are case presentation and discussion, video-presentations, and reflective exercises (where you analyse and describe the practice of DBT in your workplace). You will gain most benefit from this course if you leave a gap of several months between attending DBT Essentials / Running DBT Skills-Development Groups and this one, developing your DBT skills in those months so your have material to present and discuss on this course.

Find out more Booking options

Extended Training in DBT.

A 10-day course.
Availability: onsite, open, online live.

Providing 60 hours of training, it includes three courses plus an exam, leading to appropriate APT accreditation.

This is the most comprehensive training in DBT we currently provide, and it has inbuilt APT accreditation to Level 4 for those who complete the relevant exams and masterclass successfully.

Find out more Booking options

DBT-A: DBT for Adolescents.

A 3-day course.
Availability: onsite, open, online live.

Instruction in the key components of DBT for those who want to apply DBT to working with adolescents.

DBT brings together a series of skills and techniques which are powerful and well chosen ones, and DBT-A focuses it on working with adolescents. Whether you want to simply learn about DBT and how to apply it effectively, or are thinking of establishing a full DBT service, this course has it covered. The course covers the delivery of effective DBT at its most relevant for adolescents, including: confusion about self, impulsivity, lack of emotional control, interpersonal problems, family problems and dilemmas, high risk behaviours, including suicidal behaviour and non-suicidal self-injury.

Find out more Booking options

Where has the APT delivered training in Northern Ireland?

The Association for Psychological Therapies has delivered training at the following locations in Northern Ireland, as well as throughout the British Isles.

DBT Training FAQs

Below are FAQs that the APT receive about DBT training (course specific FAQs can be found on the relevant course page).

Can you deliver DBT training ‘onsite’ at our organisation in Belfast?

Yes, the majority of our training is provided this way – we come to you and training a group of 6-15 people for a fixed, all-inclusive fee, wherever you are.
Do you deliver ‘onsite’ training in DBT outside of Belfast?

Yes, we deliver DBT training throughout the British Isles for the same fixed, all-inclusive fee.
Can attend I attend this DBT training as an individual?

Yes, all of our DBT courses are available for individuals to attend 'online live' (via Zoom) or 'online anytime' (self-paced learning).
Do you deliver DBT training outside of the British Isles?

Yes. We are happy to provide our courses anywhere in the world for the standard UK fee plus the cost of one economy class return airfare from the British Isles to the location of the course.
Is this DBT training accredited?

Yes, all of our courses are accredited by the Association for Psychological Therapies (APT). This is given weight by the fact that over 150,000 professionals have attended APT courses. APT accreditation signifies that relevant information is presented in an engaging way, and every course is assessed on these two criteria, with the evaluation returned to the course-sponsor. The two scales (relevance and presentation quality) were obtained by factor-analysing what were previously 17 separate feedback ratings and finding that they all correlated with one or the other of the two crucial dimensions, which seemed to be 'relevance' and 'presentation quality'. If you are interested in whether a course is accredited/recognised by a specific other organisation then you need to ask that organisation. As a matter of policy APT does not seek accreditation from, and can’t speak for, any other body.
Do I gain accreditation by attending APT’s training in DBT?

Yes, upon completing DBT training with the APT you will receive the relevant level of APT-Accreditation. For further details regarding the APT Accreditation system for Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT), click here.
Do I get a certificate after completing DBT training?

Yes, a certificate will be emailed to you once we have received your registration. If you have completed an 'online anytime' course, you can download/print-off a certificate following completion of the course.
What’s the best phased approach to APT’s DBT training?

Our suggestion for a phased approach to the training would be as follows: Step one, attend the DBT Essentials course. This will give you APT’s Level 1 accreditation in DBT. Step two, within a month or so, attend the Running DBT Skills Development groups course (which teaches you to convey crucial life skills to patients, usually in groups). This will give you APT’s Level 2 accreditation in DBT. Step three, sit the (free of charge) exam online. This will give you APT’s Level 3 accreditation in DBT. Deliver DBT to your patients, setting up as good a service as you can, for about six months. Then attend the Masterclass (four days). This will give you a chance to address any problems, build on good things that happened, check that you are running good consultation groups and giving telephone support, obtain an expert view on your service, and so on. This will give you APT’s Level 4 accreditation in DBT. Most attendees should be able to reach this level. Any time after that, if you are very committed, to write a (specified) project aimed at obtaining APT's level 5 accreditation in DBT. This is a demanding project and only about half those who submit obtain a pass mark at the first attempt.
Do these courses provide supervision? If not, where do we get it from?

No, it is the service’s responsibility to provide supervision. Where do people get it from? 1. Sometimes from local DBT-knowledgeable professionals (often clinical psychologists) either 1:1 or in groups. 2. other times as ‘peer-supervision’ (often people on the course who arrange properly to meet up – often in groups – to provide this for each other). 3. Also the DBT ‘consult’ is an inbuilt form of (peer) supervision. 4. Also our Masterclass has supervision elements in it, but as it is a once-off can’t rightly be regarded as supervision, except as one component of a package.
If I attend APT’s DBT training can I use DBT with the patients I see?

Yes, we provide ‘post-qualification’ training, i.e. training for people who have a professional qualification. What entitles you to see patients is that professional qualification, and as a mental health professional you are expected to keep up-to-date with developments. This is why people attend APT courses. Having attended a course you are expected to use your professional judgement in applying what you have learned to your own situation. In keeping with that, APT courses aim to give you relevant skills and knowledge you can use in your own workplace.
If I attend APT’s DBT training can I say that I am DBT-qualified / am a DBT therapist and put that on my CV?

If you are a mental health professional and complete the DBT Essentials course, you can rightly add that fact to you CV. You might say something like: I am a clinical psychologist and in 2023 I successfully completed APT’s extended training in DBT. This involved attending 10 days of teaching spread over six months and passing a written exam.
Are the British Isles the only organisation that can accredit DBT Training?

No, anybody can do so, but the question arises as to the worth of the accreditation. Accreditation from the Association for Psychological Therapies (APT) is backed by fact of over 150,000 professionals having attended APT courses, the transparency as to what the different levels of accreditation mean, and the written evaluations testifying to the quality of the training provided.