Today we’d like to introduce you to Diana Partington
Hi Diana, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
Diana Partington LPC-MHSP is a licensed professional counselor in private practice and author of DBT for Life: Skills to transform the way you live. Her passion is teaching DBT skills.
Diana earned her Master’s in Counseling from Vanderbilt University where she wrote her Master’s Thesis on effective teaching of DBT Skills. While in graduate school, Diana explored a variety of DBT groups and found they can often be rather dry and dull. She brought her background in theater into groups and was determined to teach skills in ways that are lively and engaging. For the last decade, she has used experiential activities, discussion, stories and media to engage clients in a deep dive into DBT Skills.
Her critically acclaimed book DBT for Life: Skills to transform the way you live is full of color illustrations, short stories, graphics and explanations that make learning DBT skills fun and engaging. DBT for Life is available everywhere books are sold.
Diana loves teaching DBT Skills Online. Her small format DBT skills training groups run for 12 months at a time with open enrollment. These intimate groups offer a deep dive into skills, positive reinforcement for using skills and a strong sense of community. She also offers 10-week large group webinars to make DBT skills accessible for clients on a tight budget. Clients are referred to the groups and webinars by their therapists to supplement their individual work.
Diana also provides trainings to therapists on how to incorporate DBT into their individual and group therapy, as well as residential treatment centers that want to improve their DBT programming.
Her company, DBT for Life, is focused on providing clients across the globe with opportunities to learn DBT Skills. ONLINE Skills training classes and Webinars are supplemented by articles, on-demand classes, videos, social media,a podcast and other resources offered on the web, as well as her book DBT for Life: Skills to transform the way you live.
Diana grew up in Asia and Central America and brings an inclusive sensibility to everything she does. She not only teaches DBT skills, she uses them everyday. She credits DBT with saving her life when she went through DBT as a client, bedbfore becoming a therapist. She lives in Nashville with her cat Beans where she is writing a Daily DBT Reader, Get Skillful: Daily reminders to use DBT skills.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
Growing up overseas wasn’t easy. The constant moving and unfamiliar cultures taught me to be very adaptable. In my adult life, my divorce blindsided me and disrupted my family. The recovery from that was hard. I went from being a stay at home mom to doing animal care at Petsmart. I was determined to make a good home for my kids, so I put myself through graduate school and became a mental health counselor.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I am most proud of my accomplishments helping people overcome suicidality and create a meaningful life. I love teaching the skills from Dialectical Behavior Therapy. Probably my proudest single accomplishment is the publication of my new book ‘DBT for Life: skills to transform the way you live”. I have created a critically acclaimed book that makes the powerful skills taught in Dialectical Behavior Therapy highly accessible to people of all learning styles.
What matters most to you?
At this point in my life, my children are (as always) my top priority. My current mission however is to make the life-saving skills from Dialectical Behavior Therapy accessible through books, podcasts, webinars, classes and trainings. These skills transformed my life. They are highly researched evidence based tools that help people manage overwhelming emotions, improve relationships and cure suicidality.
Pricing:
- $190 hourly rate for individual therapy
- $70 per session for DBT Group
- $20-$45 Webinars
- $34.99 DBT for Life: Skills to transform the way you live Book
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.DBTforLife.com
- Instagram: sufferingoptional
- Facebook: DBTSkills4Life
