Advancing Dialectical Behavior Therapy

Dr. Lauren Bonavitacola received her doctorate of psychology from Rutgers University Graduate School of Applied and Professional Psychology where she studied under the mentorship of Dr. Shireen Rizvi. She is now the current co-director of the Dialectical Behavior Therapy Clinic at Rutgers University (DBT-RU), a training clinic at Rutgers University that provides low-cost, comprehensive DBT treatment to adolescents and adults in the community. She is also the founder of Bonavitacola Psychological Services, LLC, a private practice providing clinical and consultative services. She has expertise and specialized training in the delivery of evidence-based treatments for trauma, anxiety, mood, substance use, eating, and personality disorders across the lifespan. She specializes in the implementation of Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) for Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) and associated conditions, as well as CBT for anxiety and mood disorders, particularly Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) in adolescents and adults. She is a board-certified clinician by the DBT-Linehan Board of Certification. She is also a Prolonged Exposure Consultant, having completed a PE consultant training program through Emory University School of Medicine. Prior to starting her private practice, Dr. Bonavitacola was the founder and director of the Trauma Program at Cognitive & Behavioral Consultants of Westchester and Manhattan, a group practice founded by Drs. Alec Miller and Lata McGinn. At CBC, she provided individual and group therapy, supervision, conducted dozens of local and national level trainings on DBT and trauma-informed practice, and provided school consultation services in CBT and DBT modalities. Dr. Bonavitacola has published many peer-reviewed journal articles, books and book chapters, and has presented at numerous professional conferences. She is an active member and is on the program committee of the International Society for the Implementation and Teaching of Dialectical Behavior Therapy (ISITDBT) and she is a member of the Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies (ABCT). She is on the editorial board for the DBT Bulletin, a peer-reviewed journal, and serves as a peer reviewer for various journals including Cognitive and Behavioral Practice and Behavioural and Cognitive Psychotherapy. She also serves as a member of the diversity committee for DBT-Linehan Board of Certification (DBT-LBC).