2023-2024 Interns
DBT Center welcomes our six student interns! Julia, Chris, Lex, Sarah B, Sarah J, and Lydia will begin seeing clients in Fall 2023.
Killian is a published author
August 2, 2023Killian recently authored an academic paper: A Psychotherapy Private Practice Social Work Practicum: Expanding Our Boundaries of Field Education Placement
The purpose was to analyze how interning in a private practice setting impacts the practicum experience. The research involves using a qualitative analysis of autoethnography narratives by practicum students in a private practice setting.
Congratulations on this achievement, Killian!
DBT Center of Lawrence is Downtown
In March 2023, DBT Center ended its West Lawrence lease and consolidated offices in the John Roberts Castle at 1307 Massachusetts St. This is now our primary location, with one satellite office in Kansas City, and one virtual-only therapist providing remote services. It is good to be (mostly) together again!
Join us for therapy in our beautiful new location!
Welcome, Shannon Toalson!
December 20, 2022We are pleased to welcome Shannon Toalson to DBT Center as an individual and group therapist! Shannon was hired after completing her internship at the DBT Center, as she quickly became adept in the protocol and skilled in her interventions with clients. We are happy she decided to join the team!
2022-2023 Interns
DBT Center welcomes our two student interns! Abbey and Lydia will begin seeing clients in Fall 2022 and Spring 2023.
Welcome, Merrill Evans!
May 2, 2022We are pleased to welcome Merrill Evans to the team as an individual and group therapist! Merrill is an experienced DBT therapist and worked with our team at a former agency. She then became the program coordinator for sexual assault and intimate partner violence at KU and has returned to practicing DBT. We are excited to work with her again!
WE ARE CERTIFIED!
September 29, 2021We are thrilled to announce that the DBT Center of Lawrence is CERTIFIED by the Linehan Board of Certification! DBT Certification ensures programs have the necessary components and organization to deliver DBT with fidelity to the model as developed by Dr. Linehan and colleagues. This means that we adhere to standards that help us provide our best care for our clients. Thank you to all of those involved in this long and rewarding process!
2021-2022 Interns
August 16, 2021DBT Center welcomes our three student interns! Abby, Shannon, and Sarah will begin seeing clients in Fall 2021.
New Group opportunity
May 5, 2021This group is led by Andrea Holt, LSCSW, and is open to the loved ones of individuals with emotion regulation issues. Join us to learn more about the causes of emotion dysregulation and how to maintain your wellbeing amidst the distress of those around you. Additionally, learn skills to be more effective in helping your loved one when they are in need.
Group meetings are offered on the last Saturday of the month.
Welcome, Sara Jane walker
May 3, 2021We are happy to welcome Sara Jane Walker, LSCSW, to the team as a group facilitator. Sara Jane is an experienced DBT clinician, and she will lead a standard Adult DBT Group an Advanced DBT Group and serve individual clients at her own practice. We are excited for the opportunity to collaborate with her!
2020 in Review
December 15, 2020Happy Holidays, from the DBT Center of Lawrence and Kansas City!
Thank you for being a part of our DBT family. It has been especially meaningful to us during the difficulties of 2020.
Let us take a moment to reflect on how much we value our relationship with you. It means the world that you have continued to trust and rely on us through the past 2.5 years, and our center would not be the same without you. These are the changes we have made over the past year.
This year we were able to expand our presence to the east side of Lawrence by renting the first floor of the former Castle Tea Room on 13th and Massachusetts, which allows us to reach people in East Lawrence who need DBT and may have barriers to transportation.
Because of an enduring relationship with KU’s child and adult clinical psychology programs, we have been able to bring on student interns who provide more flexibility to serve the community at low or no cost, invigorate our learning and motivate us to continue training.
In July, we welcomed Andrea, our newest addition to the clinical team. Andrea is a knowledgeable and skilled DBT therapist who hails from Wichita where she was part of a DBT private practice. She works with teens and adults and brings humor and wisdom to the work of DBT.
Finally, with your support we were able to offer Alyssa, our Billing and Practice Specialist, a full-time position with us. She has organized us as a center and caught us up on many tasks that we struggle to manage. She is to thank for regular billing statements to help with the ease of staying caught up on your balances, and she makes herself readily available to answer client questions.
Thank you for being with us during this stage of our collective journeys. May you have a peaceful and cozy holiday season.
With LovingKindness,
DBT Center of Lawrence and Kansas City
2020-2021 Interns
August 17, 2020DBT Center welcomes our three student interns! Kathleen, Alli, and Rachel will begin seeing clients in Fall 2020.
Congratulations, Killian!
January 28, 2020Happy New Year, and congratulations to Killian Derusha, LSCSW, who obtained the requisite number of supervised hours of practice and passed his clinical licensing exam. Killian is now a licensed specialist clinical social worker! An LSCSW will allow him to accept insurance and provide treatment for more people, reducing the out-of-pocket cost of services for clients he sees for individual and group therapy. Way to go, Killian!
NEW LOCATION in Kansas City
November 1, 2019Our long-term plans are coming to life! We are now accepting clients for individual therapy appointments in Kansas City. We are excited to serve the greater Kansas City area. Appointments with Rachel will take place in Brookside.
We are expanding
October 24, 2019We are thrilled to announce that we have hired a part-time billing specialist, Alyssa Duhigg, to manage the billing and insurance aspects of our practice. Alyssa is responsible for submitting insurance claims, communicating with clients about insurance questions and outstanding balances, sending monthly patient statements, and a multitude of other tasks to help us become more organized as a business. Welcome to the team, Alyssa!
2019-2020 Interns
August 19, 2019DBT Center welcomes our three student interns! Kathleen, Craig, and Aubrey will begin seeing clients in Fall 2019.
Happy New Year!
January 2, 2019We are now accepting clients with Aetna Medicaid and Sunflower Health Plan.
In other exciting news, Rachel Kostura Polk became clinically licensed in December! She is now accepting clients with Blue Cross & Blue Shield health insurance.
DBT Center open house!
November 3, 2018We thoroughly enjoyed hosting our community and celebrating our dream come true at our Fall Open House. Thank you to all providers, potential clients, current clients, and friends who visited.
featured in Lawrence Journal-world
October 14, 2018Mackenzie Clark, a reporter from the Lawrence Journal-World, visited us shortly after we opened and wrote a story on our private practice.
Photo by Mackenzie Clark
open for business
September 7, 2018DBT Center of Lawrence opened in September 2018. We are very excited to serve the community!