Alec L. Miller, PsyD, is Cofounder and Clinical Director of Cognitive and Behavioral Consultants, White Plains and New York, New York, and Clinical Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Montefiore Medical Center/Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, New York. Dr. Miller served for over 20 years as Professor of Clinical Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Chief of Child and Adolescent Psychology, Director of the Adolescent Depression and Suicide Program, and Associate Director of Psychology Training at Montefiore Medical Center. He is a scientific advisor to the American Foundation of Suicide Prevention and the National Educational Alliance of Borderline Personality Disorder, a Fellow of the American Psychological Association, and past Chair of the International Society for the Improvement and Training of DBT. He has published numerous peer-reviewed journal articles, book chapters, and books on topics including DBT, adolescent suicide, childhood maltreatment, and borderline personality disorder. He is the coauthor of DBT Skills in Schools, DBT Skills Manual for Adolescents, and Dialectical Behavior Therapy with Suicidal Adolescents. He has conducted over 400 lectures and workshops around the world, training thousands of mental health professionals in DBT.

Jill H. Rathus, PhD, is a former Professor of Psychology at Long Island University Post, where she directed the DBT Clinical Research Lab. She is also cofounder and codirector of Cognitive Behavioral Associates, a treatment and training center in Great Neck, New York. Dr. Rathus is coauthor of books including Dialectical Behavior Therapy with Suicidal Adolescents and DBT Skills Manual for Adolescents, and is a coauthor of the DBT STEPS-A and DBT STEPS-E curricula for secondary and elementary school settings. She consults internationally, has trained thousands of mental health professionals in the United States and worldwide, and is widely published in peer-reviewed journals. Dr. Rathus is a recipient of the Cindy Sanderson Outstanding Educator Award from the International Society for the Improvement and Training of DBT and serves as Co-Chair of the Treatment Integrity Committee of the World DBT Association.

Marsha M. Linehan, PhD, ABPP, the developer of Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT), is Professor Emeritus of Psychology and Director Emeritus of the Behavioral Research and Therapy Clinics at the University of Washington. Before retiring in 2019, she devoted her career to developing and evaluating evidence-based treatments for populations with high suicide risk and multiple, severe mental disorders. Dr. Linehan is the 2025 recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award from the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention. Her contributions to suicide research and clinical psychology research have also been recognized with the University of Louisville Grawemeyer Award for Psychology, the Career/Lifetime Achievement Award from the Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies, the Gold Medal Award for Life Achievement in the Application of Psychology from the American Psychological Foundation, and the James McKeen Cattell Award from the Association for Psychological Science. In her honor, the American Association of Suicidology created the Marsha Linehan Award for Outstanding Research in the Treatment of Suicidal Behavior. Dr. Linehan was featured in TIME Great Scientists: The Geniuses and Visionaries Who Transformed Our World. She is founder of the Linehan Institute and is a Zen master.

Foreword, Charles R. Swenson
Introduction
1. Suicidal Behaviors in Adolescents: Who Is Most at Risk?
2. What Do We Know about Effective Treatments for Suicidal Adolescents?
3. Dialectical Behavior Therapy: Treatment Stages, Primary Targets, and Strategies
4. DBT Program Structure: Functions and Modes
5. Dialectical Dilemmas for Adolescents: Addressing Secondary Targets
6. Assessing Adolescents: Suicide Risk, Diagnosis, and Treatment Feasibility
7. Orienting Adolescents and Families to Treatment and Obtaining Commitment
8. Individual Therapy with Adolescents
9. Including Families in Treatment
10. Skills Training with Adolescents
11. Assessing Progress, Running a Graduate Group, and Terminating Treatment
12. Program Issues
Appendix A. Mindfulness Exercises for Adolescents
Appendix B. Walking the Middle Path Skills: Lecture and Discussion Points
Appendix C. Handouts for Walking the Middle Path Skills