Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) was developed by Marsha M. Linehan, Ph.D., in the 1980s (Waltz, 2003). It is designed for use in clinical settings with women engaging in potentially life-threatening behaviors, many of whom have a diagnosis of borderline personality disorder, but has since been modified to work with other populations who are experiencing emotional dysregulation (Waltz , 2003). It works on the premise of combining a behavioral change orientation with an experience validation stance (Waltz, 2003). Researchers have noted an overlap in violent men and people with borderline personality disorder (Dutton, 1995a, 1995b; Dutton & Starzomski, 1993; Gondolf & White, 2001; Waltz, Babcock, Jacobson, & Gottman, 2000, as cited in Waltz , 2003); More specifically with regards to its application in addressing intimate partner violence, DBT supports the dialectical position that abusive behavior is destructive and must change and that the person who committed the act must be held accountable, while recognizing time that people who commit intimate partner violence have been shaped by their lived reality and are worthy of respect (Waltz, 2003). DBT focuses on abuse as a problem to be solved, not as a moral issue (Waltz, 2003). Assessment is a feature of DBT. Fruzzetti and Levensky (2000) note that it has three purposes. First, determine the client's suitability for treatment by ensuring that he or she has the concerns that the program is designed to address and that there are no exclusionary criteria such as high suicidality, current threats, or active psychosis (Fruzzetti & Levensky, 2000). Note: I prefer to evaluate whether the treatment is appropriate for the client rather than whether the client is appropriate for the treatment; it's a subtle distinction but remember... half of the sheet of paper... resume (revised ed.). Duluth, MN.: Domestic Abuse Intervention Project. Stromwall, L. K. (2002). Are the doors of social services open to people recovering from psychiatric disabilities? Social Work, 47(1), 75-83. Stuart, R.B. (2005). Treatment for partner abuse: It's time for a paradigm shift. ProfessionalPsychology, 36(3), 254 – 263.Tomm, K. (1989). Externalize the problem and internalize the personal action. Journal of Strategic and Systemic Therapies, 8(1), no pages. Retrieved from www.familytherapy.org/documents/externalize_%20the_prob.pdf Waltz, J. (2003). Dialectical behavior therapy in the treatment of abusive behavior. Journal of Aggression, Maltreatment & Trauma, 7(1-2), 75-103. Winstock, Z. (2011). The paradigmatic split on gender differences in the perpetration and victimization of intimate partner violence. Aggression and violent behavior, 16(4), 303-311