Marsha Linehan, Ph.D.
Professor Emeritus
Advising:
Does not accept or train psychology graduate students.
Areas:
Adult Clinical
Interests: Suicide, Borderline Personality Disorder, Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT), dissemination of evidence-based treatments
Links:
Research
My entire career has been focused on the assessment and treatment of suicidal behaviors among individuals with multiple and severe disorders. I have developed a comprehensive cognitive behavioral treatment (Dialectical Behavior Therapy; DBT) that has reliably demonstrated its ability to reduce suicide attempts among individuals with borderline personality disorder. I am an established treatment development researcher with 30+ years of experience conducting behavioral treatment research with individuals at high risk for suicide and leading a research clinic that has already been successful at developing and disseminating effective treatments for suicidal behaviors. In addition, I have developed and researched assessment measures related to suicidal behavior (including the Reasons for Living Questionnaire and the Suicide Attempt Self-Injury Interview) as well as methods for disseminating DBT and other evidence-based therapies required to successfully treat chronically suicidal individuals. I have also published widely in the area of suicide, borderline personality disorder, and treatment development and outcome research.
Education
Loyola of Chicago (1971)
- January 25, 2022 Dr. Marsha Linehan's DBT discussed in Scientific American article
- August 13, 2020 Marsha Linehan’s Cool Off exercise is one of several de-stressing methods offered in this New York Times article about coping with COVID-10 stress
- August 21, 2019 Marsha Linehan and Ursula Whiteside are mentioned in this Washington Post article about suicide prevention.
- August 14, 2019 Ursula Whiteside, who studied with Marsha Linehan, discusses why talking about suicide directly is a form of prevention in this KUOW story titled Now Matters Now. Ursula works with Marsha Linehan on suicide treatment.
- May 13, 2019 UW Medicine Newsroom recently posted an article about a therapy-oriented website, designed by Marsha Linehan and Ursula Whiteside that assists suicidal people with DBT practices.
- November 27, 2018 Marsha Linehan's work on suicidal behaviors, along with graduate Ursula Whiteside, is included in this HuffPost article on how to help someone who is contemplating suicide.
- October 18, 2018 Marsha Linehan’s Dialectical Behavior Therapy is lauded in this Allure article about treating Borderline Personality Disorder
- October 8, 2018 Marsha Linehan explains how Radical Acceptance was ultimately rooted in Buddhist philosophy and translated into behavioral language, in this WHYY story about Chinese elders learning to "walk the middle path" to better mental health.
- October 1, 2018 Marsha Linehan’s Dialectical Behavior Therapy and Radical Acceptance are the topics of this Mumbai Mirror article.
- August 3, 2018 Jackson Hole News and Guide explores use of Marsha Linehan’s DBT to build a "life worth living"
- July 11, 2018 Marsha Linehan/DBT in Stanford Medicine Scope article "New suicide prevention clinical trial shows what works for teens"
- July 9, 2018 Marsha Linehan was quoted in this Psychology Today blog post about maladaptive patterns.
- June 15, 2018 Marsha Linehan and Dialectical Behavioral Therapy praised by Seahawk Brandon Marshall in this News Tribune story.
- June 7, 2018 Marsha Linehan’s Dialectical Behavior Therapy is described in this Longevity article on available mental health approaches
- May 22, 2018 Marsha Linehan and Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT) cited in two recent publications: The Bellevue Reporter and ADDitude online magazine.
- April 30, 2018 Psychology Today discusses the use of Marsha Linehan’s DBT Skills to help people in their midlives.
- April 4, 2018 Marsha Linehan is cited in a Psychology Today article about the relationship between mental health and mass shootings.
- March 16, 2018 Marsha Linehan was quoted in this New York Times article about homeless people with mental illnesses rejecting assistance.
- January 17, 2018 Marsha Linehan and Andy Meltzoff were honored as part of the "Top 50 Most Influential Psychologists in the World" by TheBestSchools.org.
- November 13, 2017 Marsha Linehan is quoted in an article from The Guardian dealing with trauma from events in society.
- October 26, 2017 Marsha Linehan’s Dialectical Behavior Therapy is touted in this article from The Daily about self-destructive behaviors.
- October 16, 2017 Marsha Linehan’s Dialectical Behavior Therapy helped improve the rehabilitation of minors at the Echo Glen Children’s Center, which is celebrating 50 years of youth rehab.
- August 8, 2017 Marsha Linehan is featured in a story about a Chico clinic changing lives with the use of DBT.
- July 24, 2017 Marsha Linehan’s Reasons for Living Inventory was referenced in this article on suicide prevention.
- March 8, 2017 A mental health expert explains the effectiveness of Marsha Linehan’s Dialectical Behavior Therapy in The Huffington Post.
- February 8, 2017 Marsha Linehan cited in a US News article on validation and how it benefits child behavioral development.
- December 7, 2016 Congratulations to Marsha Linehan for winning the 2017 Grawemeyer Award for Psychology!
- November 23, 2016 Marsha Linehan’s work on Dialectical Behavior Therapy has been assisting this clinical social worker’s anxiety and fear caused by the recent elections.
- November 16, 2016 Marsha Linehan is in a documentary about a woman with Borderline Personality Disorder.
- August 5, 2015 Congratulations to Marsha Linehan who will receive the 2015 President’s Award at the Silver Hill Hospital 6th Annual Fall Gala in New York City.
- June 5, 2015 Marsha Linehan was recognized for her lifetime of contributions to Psychology and mental health research when she recently received the Association for Psychological Science James McKeen Cattell Fellow Award.
- April 27, 2015 Marsha Linehan is delivering a James McKeen Cattell Fellow Award Address at this year's Association for Psychological Science Convention.
- April 17, 2015 DBT is like pizza to college students – it’s just good stuff. Great work Marsha Linehan!
- April 2, 2015 Radical Acceptance + Russell Wilson = a great shout out to Marsha Linehan and DBT.
- November 12, 2014 Anita Lungu, who works with Marsha Linehan, is the recipient of the 2014 American Psychological Association Dissertation Research Award!
- October 8, 2014 Marsha Linehan and DBT are featured in this Huff Post article -
- October 1, 2014 Marsha Linehan was recently featured in this article regarding the recent domestic violence issues in the NFL.
- July 16, 2014 Marsha Linehan’s work with DBT continues to capture headlines:
- June 25, 2014 Marsha Linehan’s DBT work continues to make news nationally and internationally:
- April 23, 2014 Professor Marsha Linehan is one of the 2014 James McKeen Cattell Fellows for the Association for Psychological Science!
- March 5, 2014 Marsha Linehan is the recipient of the 2014 Association for Psychological Science (APS) James McKeen Cattell Award.
- January 15, 2014 Congratulations to Anita Lungu for receiving the prestigious Society for a Science of Clinical Psychology Dissertation Grant Award for her study: Computerized Trans-Diagnostic DBT Skills Training for Emotion Dysregulation.
- January 8, 2014 Kay Chai has been awarded a Mary Gates Research Scholarship.
- June 19, 2013 Congratulations to Kay Yu Yuan Chai, one of the co-winners of the 2013 Guthrie Prize in Psychology.
- June 19, 2013 Congratulations to Marsha Linehan who recently received two awards.
- May 9, 2013 Erin Ward has just received the Graduate School Presidential Dissertation Fellowship for use during 2013-14.
- August 9, 2012 Marsha Linehan has been awarded the prestigious 2012 American Psychological Foundation (APF) Gold Medal Award for Lifetime Achievement in the Application of Psychology.
- January 3, 2012 Marsha Linehan is a 2011 Elizabeth Hurlock Beckman Award Trust Recipient.
- August 9, 2011 Marsha Linehan’s Dialectical Behavior Therapy is among the "100 New Scientific Discoveries: Fascinating, Unbelievable and Mind Expanding Stories," published by Time Inc.
- July 26, 2011 Marsha Linehan was interviewed by NPR’s Neal Conan on the show Talk of the Nation in early July.
- February 8, 2011 Marsha Linehan was quoted in The Wall Street Journal.
- September 14, 2010 Marsha Linehan was featured in a Forbes Magazine article, September 13. "The mental health industry ignores the 35,000 people a year who commit suicide. A few researchers are trying to change that." "The Forgotten Patients,"
- May 18, 2010 Marsha Linehan was interviewed in the May/June APS Observer for the "Champions of Psychology" feature.
- March 2, 2010 Marsha Linehan's work is mentioned in the February 25 New York Times article: "Teen Moodiness, or Borderline Personality Disorder?"
- December 1, 2009 Marsha Linehan’s research plenary address at the NAMI (National Alliance for Mental Illness) Convention became an article in NAMI’s Advocate magazine, September 2009.
- September 7, 2009 Marsha Linehan was quoted in a recent LA Times article "Borderline personality disorder grows as healthcare concern"
- July 14, 2009 Both Marsha Linehan and John Gottman made the "newsmakers" section of University Week.
- June 30, 2009 Marsha Linehan was featured in the NY Times Health column for her work on her 'very hot' treatment of borderline personality disorder.
- March 16, 2009 Marsha Linehan’s books on dialectical behavior therapy were both ranked #1 in influence among 2,459 psychotherapists in a web-based survey.
- February 2, 2009 Marsha Linehan is participating in the Harvard Medical School’s "Meditation and Psychotherapy" conference that features the Dalai Lama.
- January 13, 2009 Marsha Linehan was quoted in The Mystery of Borderline Personality Disorder
- November 10, 2008 Marsha Linehan was honored by the Washington State Psychological Association as the 2008 Distinguished Psychologist.
- April 11, 2008 The UW Clinical Psychology program has received a number 1 ranking (tied with UCLA and Wisconsin) in the latest U.S. News and World Report ranking of more than 200 graduate programs.
- July 5, 2006 Marsha Linehan, Katherine Comtois, Angela Murray, Milton Brown, Heidi Heard, Kathryn Korslund, Darren Tutek, Sarah Reynolds and Noam Lindenboim's research on women with borderline personality disorder, suicide, and dialectical behavior therapy that was recently highlighted by the UW Office of News and Information. "Women given specialized treatment half as likely to attempt suicide,"
- September 16, 2004 Volunteers needed for borderline personality disorder treatment studies
- July 26, 2004 Marsha Linehan was featured in a New York Times "Science Times" article on dialectical behavior therapy.
- July 13, 2004 With Toughness and Caring, a Novel Therapy Helps Tortured Souls
- Coyle, T.N., Shaver, J.A., Linehan, M.M. (2018). On the Potential for Iatrogenic Effects of Psychiatric Crisis Services: The Example of Dialectical Behavior Therapy for Adult Women With Borderline Personality Disorder. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology. Vol 86 (2), 116-124.
- McCauley, E., Berk, M.S., Asarnow, J., Adrian, M., Cohen, J. Korslund, K., Avina, C., Hughes, J., Harned, M., Gallop, R., Linehan, M.M. (2018). Efficacy of Dialectical Behavior Therapy for Adolescents at High Risk for Suicide: A Randomized Clinical Trial. JAMA Psychiatry, 75(8): 1-10.
- Ward-Ciesielski, E.F, Tidik, J.A., Edwards, A.J., Linehan, M. M. (2017) Comparing Brief Interventions for Suicidal Individuals Not Engaged in Treatment: A Randomized Clinical Trial. Journal of Affective Disorders. 222, 153-161
- Wilks, C, Yin, Q., Ang, S.Y., Matsumiya, B., Lungu, A.,Linehan, M.M., (2017) Internet-Delivered Dialectical Behavioral Therapy Skills Training for Suicidal and Heavy Episodic Drinkers: Protocol and Preliminary Results of a Randomized Controlled Trial. JMIR Research Protocol, 6(10), 207.
- Linehan, M. M., Korslund, K. E., Harned, M. S., Gallop, R. J., Lungu, A., Neacsiu, A. D., McDavid, J., Comtois, K. A., & Murray-Gregory, A. M. (2015). Dialectical Behavior Therapy for High Suicide Risk in Borderline Personality Disorder: A Component Analysis. JAMA Psychiatry, 72(5), 475-82.
- Neacsiu, A. D., Eberle, J. W., Kramer, R., Wiesmann, T., & Linehan, M. M. (2014). Dialectical Behavior Therapy Skills for Transdiagnostic Emotion Dysregulation: A Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 59, 40-51.