Hey y’all! My name is Victoria, and I am a registered psychotherapist with the CPER team. 

I found out about the clinic while attending a Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT) training offered by Dr. Anita Federici herself. Prior to this training, I knew next to nothing about what DBT was, and I’ll admit, in the setting I was working in at the time, I was a little skeptical about the applicability of such a treatment. I loved Anita’s style though and decided to ask for the opportunity to complete my master’s practicum at her clinic. 

Fast forward a little over three years later, and here I am writing a blog post introducing you to our new DBT team lead: Me! Since joining the CPER team, I dove headfirst into learning all about DBT. I am by no means a DBT expert, I am, though, a firm believer in what DBT can achieve when applied effectively. In the last few years, I have seen evidence of the DBT treatment and philosophies as being life changing, not just for our clients, but myself as well. 

You might be thinking, “Okay, I love that for you Victoria, but besides your fancy new title, what does being the DBT team lead mean?” and to be honest, I’m still trying to figure out all the details. It is primarily about ensuring our DBT team stays on track to create the program we envision – we have been doing the best we can, and we are striving to do better. So far, it has included working with the CPER team to figure out the most fair and ethical ways to manage our DBT waitlist and groups. Moving forward, I hope it means working toward greater training and education in how we can apply DBT to diverse populations more effectively, including and not limited to our BIPOC, neuro-, and gender-diverse communities.

I am excited to be starting this role and continue my learning about DBT and how we can continue to effectively apply it here at CPER.