The conference has ended
Click here for free conference webinar sessions on Sunday 8th September 2024.
We warmly welcome all Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT) practitioners, researchers and trainees to the soft launch webinar of the Asia-Pacific Association for DBT (APAC-DBT)!
This online event will be held on Saturday, 7 September 2024, from 8.45am to 4.30pm CST (Singapore, Beijing, Perth time), in conjunction with the International Chinese DBT Conference.
Attendees will be able to participate in keynote speeches being delivered at this conference, streamed live from the venue in Nanjing, China. An exclusive online webinar will be hosted by members of the APAC-DBT transitional board, with diverse sharing sessions on the practice and dissemination of DBT in their countries. Importantly, information on how to register as part of the APAC-DBT will be provided.
Fees and Registrations
High income* country: AU$150
Low-Middle* income country: $120
20% discount for APAC-DBT members
40% discount for tertiery students (note: student ID documentation required)
*Country income classifications are taken from the World Bank. See the conference registration page for details.
Conference Schedule (see presenter bios below)
All presentations are in English except where noted.
| 08:45 AM – 09:10 AM CST (GMT+8) | |
| S01 – Mindfulness & Welcome Michelle Tan Online Session |  |
| 09:10 AM – 12:00 PM CST (GMT+8) | |
| C01 – Can We Conceptualize Borderline Disorder as a Trauma-Related Disorder Martin Bohus Hybrid Session |  |
| C02 – DBT: Where Did It Come From? What Is It Now? Where Is It Going in the Future? Zach Rosenthal Hybrid Session |  |
| C03 – Adaptations of DBT in Asia: Case Studies and Clinical Considerations Shian-Ling Keng Hybrid Session | ![](/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Shian-Ling.jpg") |
| C04 – DBT for Eating Disorders Leslie Karwoski Anderson Hybrid Session |  |
| C05 – Dialectical Behavior Therapy in Non-Suicidal Self-Injury: A Multicenter Research in China Wang Chun Hybrid Session – Mandarin language |  |
| 12:00 PM – 01:00 PM CST (GMT+8) | |
| Lunch | |
| 01:00 PM – 03:15 PM CST (GMT+8) | |
| S02 – The Contribution of Skills to the Effectiveness of DBT in an Australian Community Mental Health Setting Sian Jeffery (Australia) Online Session |  |
| S03 – Effectiveness Of Dialectical Behaviour Group Psychotherapy For Borderline Personality Disorder In Indonesia Natalia Dewi Wardani (Indonesia) Online Session |  |
| S04 – ‘Practice Makes Progress’: A Qualitative Study of Clients’ Experiences in an Adapted DBT Program Michelle Tan (Singapore) Online Session | |
| S05 – Culturally Appropriate Delivery of DBT for Indigenous Populations: Reflections from Aotearoa, New Zealand Kirsten Davis, Horiana Jones & Jamie Kampen (New Zealand) Online Session |    |
| 03:25 PM – 03:35 PM CST (GMT+8) | |
| Break | |
| 03:35 PM – 04:00 PM CST (GMT+8) | |
| S06 – Membership Update & Closing Address Shian-Ling Keng Online Session |  |
| 04:00 PM – 04:30 PM CST (GMT+8) | |
| S07 – Virtual Networking Session (Optional) Online Breakout Session | |
- Prof Martin Bohus specializes in psychiatry, psychotherapy and psychosomatic medicine. From 2003 to 2021, he served as chair of the Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy, Heidelberg University and medical director at the Central Institute of Mental Health, Mannheim. Dr Bohus is now a professor emeritus at Heidelberg University, visiting professor at the University of Antwerp, Belgium; Ruhr-Universität Bochum, and Harvard Medical School, USA. He received several awards for psychotherapy research. He is the president of the German Association for DBT, president of European DBT Association (EDBTA) and board member of the World DBT Association (WDBTA). He was a board member of the German Association of Psychiatry, president of the European Society for the Studies of Personality Disorders (ESSPD) and vice president of the International Society for Personality Disorders (ISSPD). He was the first president and initiator of the International Congress on Borderline Personality Disorder. He has published more than 450 scientific articles and book chapters, mainly on mechanisms of psychotherapy, borderline personality disorder and complex PTSD. Having collaborated with Marsha Linehan for decades, he is recognized as one of the most influential experts on DBT. He is the founder of several residential treatment programs, training centers, and is responsible for ground-breaking studies, especially on DBT-PTSD.
- Prof Zach Rosenthal is a clinical psychologist and an associate professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences. He is the associate director of Clinical Services and director of the Adult Outpatient Clinic in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Duke University. Additionally, he serves as an associate professor in the Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, and is the director of the Center for Misophonia and Emotion Regulation (CMER). Dr. Rosenthal also leads the Cognitive Behavioral Research and Treatment Program (CBRTP) at Duke University and co-chairs the Duke University Medical Center. He has published numerous papers and has received a variety of funding, including grants from the National Institutes of Health, the Department of Defense, and various foundations. His main areas of expertise include emotional functioning and emotion regulation issues in adults with borderline personality disorder (BPD) and misophonia, as well as the use of virtual reality, digital health, behavioral therapy, cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), and dialectical behavior therapy (DBT). He is also skilled in teaching and clinical supervision.
- Prof Shian-Ling Keng is a professor in the Department of Psychology and School of Medical and Life Sciences at Sunway University, Malaysia. She is trained as a clinical psychologist, and her research focuses on the effects and mechanisms through which mindfulness-based interventions affect psychological and physical health. She received her B. Sc., M.A., and PhD in Clinical Psychology at Duke University in the United States, and completed her clinical psychology residency at the Borderline Personality Disorder Clinic and Mood Disorders Clinic at Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, Toronto, Canada. Prof Keng has received training in cognitive behavior therapy (CBT), dialectical behavior therapy (DBT), and mindfulness-based intervention approaches (e.g., mindfulness-based stress reduction; MBSR). She is a DBT-Linehan Board Certified clinician, a qualified MBSR instructor, and Chair of the Provisional Board for the Asia-Pacific Association for DBT. Prof Keng has worked in hospital and clinic settings with patients of a variety of diagnoses, including mood, anxiety, substance use, and personality disorders.
- Prof Leslie Karwoski Anderson is a clinical professor, assistant clinical director at the UCSD Eating Disorders Center. She is a DBT-Linehan Board certified clinician and Behavioral Tech trainer. Before joining UCSD, she served as clinical faculty at the University of Washington, where she was a supervisor at Marsha Linehan’s DBT training center and a psychologist at the Seattle DBT Center. Her research interests include the development, evaluation, and outcomes of DBT and family-based treatment (FBT). She has published several papers and two books in this field. She frequently gives lectures and workshops on DBT, suicidal behavior, eating disorders, and related topics at various forums and international conferences. She is a board member of the Academy for Eating Disorders and the co-editor of the journal Eating Disorders: The Journal of Treatment and Prevention.
- Prof Chun Wang is a senior psychiatrist and psychologist at Nanjing Brain Hospital, Nanjing, China. She is the leader of the Dialectical Behavior Therapy Group of China, vice chair of the Cognitive Behavior Therapy committee of the Chinese Association for Mental Health, deputy director of Cognitive Behavior Therapy Institute of Nanjing Medical University, deputy director of Jiangsu Depression Center, deputy director of Nanjing Brain Hospital Mood Disorders Department and director of Nanjing Brain Hospital Mental Health Center. Prof Wang has over 20 years of experience in CBT practice, teaching, training and research. She is renowned for the research and publications in the fields of neurobiological mechanisms of CBT. Since 2019, Prof Wang has led a multi-center study to explore the neurobiological mechanisms of DBT treating NSSI behaviors in China.
- Dr Sian Jeffery, M Psych (Clinical) Ph.D., is a senior clinical psychologist and coordinator of the DBT programs at Fremantle Mental Health Service in Western Australia since 2009. Dr Jeffery has completed DBT training with Behavioral Tech, the Portland DBT Institute and other international recognised DBT experts. Dr Jeffery was formerly an Australian national trainer for Family Connections® and is an Australian trainer for the National BPD Core Competencies Training strategy. Dr Jeffery has a keen interest in personality disorders and is actively involved in systems change in Western Australia. Dr Jeffery provides regular training in DBT for Psychology Training, as well as supervision and consultation.
- Dr Natalia Dewi Wardani, MD, is a member of the Psychotherapy Section of Indonesian Psychiatrist Association. She is also a lecturer and an assistant professor in the Department of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, Diponegoro University. She has a keen interest in psychotherapy especially in the area of Dialectical Behavioural Therapy (DBT). She is a well trained clinician that serves both individual and group settings, and to recent dates is being trained by Behavioural Tech in Indonesia for a specific course on the DBT Consultation Team. She has worked with patients with borderline personality disorder throughout her career and also has been actively involved at regional, national and international scopes in promoting psychotherapy, mental health research and practice. She authored several articles and books in the areas of psychiatry and psychotherapy.
- Ms Michelle Tan is a senior clinical psychologist currently based at a public psychiatric hospital in Singapore, where she has led a dialectical behaviour therapy (DBT) team since 2018. She has experience in program development, implementation and evaluation in inpatient, outpatient, residential, and forensic settings. Her clinical and research focus is in the area of post-traumatic stress and abuse recovery, as well as in group therapies. She is trained in emotion-focused therapy (EFT), DBT and schema therapy.
- Dr Kirsten Davis is a director, shareholder and contracted trainer/consultant with DBT New Zealand and DBT Training Australia. She is CEO and Clinical Psychologist at The Psychology Group practice delivering DBT in schools and in the community for young people.
- Horiana Jones is a registered clinical psychologist, and co-team leader of Oranga Tamariki’s (Child Protection Services) Bay of Plenty Clinical Services. Horiana has whakapapa connections to Te Arawa waka, Tuhourangi Ngāti wahiao, Ngāti Tuwharetoa, Ngāti Raukawa ki te tonga, and is based in Rotorua. Horiana is a DBT trained clinician, a co-investigator on an FASD prevalence study, an active member of He paiaka Tōtara (National Māori psychologist Rōpu), and works in private practice, consulting, and cultural supervision. Horiana co-developed Tai ki uta; a Matauranga Māori informed marae-based skills group that teaches dialectical behaviour therapy skills over a 16-week period to rangatahi (adolescents) and whanau.
- Dr Jamie Kampen is a registered clinical psychologist, and co-team leader of Oranga Tamariki’s (Child Protection Services) Bay of Plenty Clinical Services. Jamie is a DBT trained clinician and recently completed a three year program in Mahi Wairua Practice with Tohunga Wiremu Nia Nia and Koka Lesley Nia Nia. Jamie co-developed Tai Ki Uta; a tikanga and matauranga Māori informed skills group that teaches dialectical behaviour therapy skills over a 16-week period.