The four skills modules
Mindfulness, distress tolerance, emotion regulation, and interpersonal effectiveness—the same evidence-based curriculum used in adolescent DBT programs, adapted to your teen's age and life.
DBT for adolescents in Atlanta
For adolescents whose emotions move faster than their choices.
Dialectical Behavior Therapy gives teenagers concrete skills for intense emotions—taught in individual sessions, with the full comprehensive program available when it is needed.
- Consultation
- The initial consultation is free and typically lasts 15 minutes. I will respond within 24 hours.
- Sessions
- In person in Atlanta, or telehealth for clients physically located in Georgia.
- Payment
- Private pay. Insurance is not accepted.
Alireza Ehteshami, Ph.D., Pre-Licensed Professional in Clinical Psychology, practicing under the supervision of Craig Kerley, Psy.D., Georgia license PSY002840.
Where therapy can begin
By the time parents look up DBT, they have usually tried everything else they know.
The pattern is often familiar before it has a name: a small trigger, an enormous reaction, slammed doors or frightening words—and then, sometimes minutes later, a teenager who is remorseful, exhausted, or unable to explain what happened. Consequences and heart-to-hearts help briefly, if at all, and everyone in the house has learned to walk carefully.
DBT was developed for exactly this kind of emotional intensity, and it has strong research support with adolescents. Rather than treating big reactions as defiance to be corrected, it treats them as a skills gap that can be closed: teens learn concrete ways to ride out overwhelming moments, name what they are feeling, and ask for what they need before the explosion.
Your clinician
I earned my Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from Emory University and completed an APA-accredited predoctoral internship through Emory University School of Medicine’s Child, Adolescent & Young Adult Psychiatry program.
I am completing a postdoctoral fellowship at Perimeter Mood & Anxiety Program. I draw from evidence-based treatments including CBT, ACT, and DBT, selecting methods according to each person’s needs rather than applying a single formula.
Supervision
I am a Pre-Licensed Professional in Clinical Psychology. I provide clinical services under the supervision of Craig Kerley, Psy.D., a licensed psychologist in Georgia, license number PSY002840.
What DBT gives a teenager
The skills are concrete and learnable. Sessions teach them one at a time and practice them against the situations your teen actually faces—at school, online, and at home.
Surviving the spike
Skills for the worst moments—urges to lash out, shut down, or do something they will later regret—so the wave can pass without leaving damage behind.
Fewer battles at home
Ways to name feelings and needs before they become explosions, and steadier patterns for the conversations that keep going wrong.
How I work
Taking a teenager's emotions seriously is not the same as letting them run everything.
I provide DBT to adolescents in individual sessions—skills training, diary cards, and chain analysis within a consistent one-on-one relationship—drawing on my training through Emory University School of Medicine's Child, Adolescent & Young Adult Psychiatry program. My practice is based at the Perimeter Mood & Anxiety Program, so when the fuller comprehensive structure is indicated, it is available in the same setting.
Skills over lectures
Teens have usually heard every speech. DBT gives them something different: specific things to do when emotion hits, practiced until they are available in the moment.
Both things are true
Your teen is doing the best they can, and they need to do better. DBT holds both without contradiction—which is often what lets a teenager stop defending and start learning.
Parents learn the model too
You learn enough of the DBT framework to respond usefully at home—validating without surrendering, holding limits without escalating—so the household stops feeding the cycle.
Common questions
If your question is not covered here, you are welcome to bring it to our initial conversation.
Is DBT right for my teen?
DBT tends to fit adolescents whose emotions arrive fast and hit hard: impulsive reactions they later regret, harsh self-criticism, conflict cycles at home, or feelings that interfere with school and friendships. No diagnosis is required to begin, and the initial consultation is where we consider fit honestly. If your teen needs a higher level of care than outpatient therapy, I will say so directly and help you find it.
Individual DBT or the comprehensive program—which one?
Most teens can begin with individual DBT: the skills curriculum, diary cards, and chain analysis within one-on-one sessions. The comprehensive adolescent DBT program—adding a multifamily skills group, phone coaching, and a therapist consultation team—is available at the Perimeter Mood & Anxiety Program, where my practice is based, so moving between formats does not mean starting over with someone new. The consultation and early sessions inform which structure fits.
How are parents involved in a teen's DBT?
More than in most individual therapy. You are oriented to the DBT model early, joint sessions are used when they serve the work, and you receive practical guidance for the moments at home that matter most. Your teen still keeps the privacy that makes honest therapy possible, and anything concerning safety is always shared with you.
How long does DBT take?
Long enough to learn the skills and actually use them—typically a number of months rather than a few sessions. Adolescent DBT is a structured treatment with concrete targets, so progress is something we track and discuss openly rather than letting the work drift.
Begin with a brief conversation
The initial consultation is free and typically lasts 15 minutes. I will respond within 24 hours. This form does not ask for clinical or medical information.
Parents can begin with a consultation to discuss next steps and whether my approach may be a good fit for their adolescent.
- Practice
- Perimeter Mood & Anxiety Program
- Telehealth
- For clients physically located in Georgia
You are welcome to share your name, preferred contact method, and general availability. To support HIPAA privacy safeguards, please do not include sensitive clinical or medical information in this form.
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