Outpatient DBT in California for Continued Support and Stabilization

Why Choose Outpatient DBT?

Outpatient DBT gives clients a bridge between inpatient stabilization and full independence. It offers weekly sessions, ongoing skill-building, and steady therapeutic support—all of which help clients stay safe, regulated, and connected.

This level of care is especially helpful for individuals who:

• Recently completed inpatient or residential treatment
• Need continued structure without the intensity of higher care
• Struggle with emotional dysregulation or impulsive behaviors
• Face ongoing stressors at work, school, or home
• Benefit from accountability and skills practice

Because DBT focuses on both acceptance and change, clients learn to understand their emotions while building healthier patterns in their relationships and daily routines. This approach provides clear tools and steady support for those who feel overwhelmed, stuck, or disconnected from themselves.

What Outpatient DBT Helps With

Outpatient DBT is effective for clients experiencing:

• Anxiety and depression
• PTSD and trauma-related symptoms
• Chronic emotion dysregulation
• Self-harm urges or past self-injury
• Suicidal ideation (low to moderate risk)
• ADHD
• Addictive or self-destructive behaviors
• Relationship instability
• Stress connected to identity, family, or work

This approach is ideal for people who feel emotions intensely and need continued support applying DBT skills outside of a controlled treatment environment. DBT gives you structure, tools, and hope so you can move through life with more balance and less overwhelm.

What Clients Can Expect

Sessions are focused, practical, and supportive. Clients learn how to:

• Regulate intense emotions
• Build distress tolerance
• Improve communication and relationship skills
• Strengthen boundaries
• Reduce impulsive or reactive behaviors
• Increase mindfulness and self-awareness

Each session includes time to check in, review skill use, and introduce tools for the week ahead. Clients move at a pace that matches their needs and level of stability. Although the structure is consistent, the approach always adjusts to what is most helpful in the moment.

All sessions are offered through TeleHealth, making it easier for clients across California to access care during their transition out of inpatient or residential treatment.

A Supportive Step-Down Option for Continued Care

Outpatient DBT plays a key role in relapse prevention and long-term emotional health. It supports clients as they:

• Re-enter school or work
• Adjust to daily responsibilities
• Navigate relationship challenges
• Build independence
• Strengthen internal coping resources

With regular sessions and a supportive therapeutic relationship, clients gain the skills and confidence needed to maintain progress and reduce the risk of returning to a higher level of care.

Meet Our DBT Therapists

Sairah Abassi, LCSW

Sairah Abassi, LCSW, offers therapy to clients throughout California and Colorado, using Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) to help individuals and couples manage stress, emotional challenges, and relationship patterns. With a warm and practical style, she supports clients in building mindfulness, emotional regulation, and healthy communication skills, especially those healing from trauma or seeking greater balance in their lives.

Hannah Pasternak, LCSW

Hannah Pasternak, LCSW, specializes in Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) and helps clients develop practical tools to manage intense emotions and navigate life’s challenges with more ease. She emphasizes mindfulness, distress tolerance, emotion regulation, and interpersonal effectiveness to support clients in building resilience—whether they’re facing relationship struggles, workplace stress, anxiety, or the effects of trauma.

Hannah offers a warm, nonjudgmental space for clients to explore their emotions and experiences. By blending DBT techniques with a strengths-based approach, she empowers individuals to create meaningful, lasting change in their relationships and within themselves.

Connect with an Outpatient DBT Provider in California

To refer a client for outpatient DBT services, please contact our Intake Coordinator at 949-236-1990 or intakes@lisaeatontherapy.com. We provide DBT-informed therapy to California residents through TeleHealth sessions, offering a supportive step-down option for clients transitioning from inpatient or higher levels of care. Additional information about our intake process is available on our Get Started page.