3East Adolescent DBT Programs

Cutting-edge dialectical behavior therapy (DBT) treatment for teens and young adults.

McLean’s adolescent dialectical behavior therapy programs, collectively known as 3East, provide specialized care for teens and young adults.

Our programs focus on treatment for depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and emerging borderline personality disorder (BPD). Symptoms of these conditions include suicidal thoughts and behavior, self-injury (such as cutting), disordered eating, drug and alcohol misuse, impulsivity, and significant interpersonal difficulties.

We’re here to make a difference in the lives of teens and young adults from across the country and around the world who live with mental illness.

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To help patients build the skills and strategies they need to work towards recovery, the programs utilize intensive dialectical behavior therapy, known as DBT, to teach individuals how to regulate emotions, tolerate stress, build interpersonal skills, manage attention, and develop self-awareness.

DBT has been clinically tested and proven to be effective in borderline personality disorder treatment and depression treatment in adolescents and adults.

3East is ideal for adolescents and young adults seeking:

  • Borderline personality disorder treatment
  • Depression treatment
  • Anxiety treatment
  • Post-traumatic stress disorder treatment

The programs in the 3East continuum are specifically designed to accommodate patients in different phases of the treatment and recovery process, from highly focused residential treatment to outpatient care.

We offer intensive residential treatment as well as specialized day program (partial hospital) and outpatient care. Family services are included in all programs. Length of stay, ages accepted, and location vary with each program.

As most of the programs within 3East are self-pay, we do not accept insurance or assist with insurance reimbursement efforts. However, some fees may be recoverable through your insurance provider.

Our compassionate, multidisciplinary clinicians have chosen to specialize in working with this patient population and are dedicated to treating young people to address their individual challenges to help them make positive changes in their lives.

Group therapy with teens

3East is a leader in teen mental health treatment

3East is well known for its commitment to working with young people to create tailored treatment plans to meet individualized goals.

Our dedicated staff takes the time to get to know patients and their unique set of challenges, working closely with them and their families to address difficulties, build skills, maximize treatment outcomes, and transition successfully to aftercare.

3East is located on McLean’s Arlington campus and is easily accessible to the greater Boston area and all its medical, psychiatric, and recreational resources. The programs offer a comfortable environment conducive to helping patients focus on their treatment.

For our residential patients, accommodations are designed to provide a home-like setting while they are meeting with a member of their care team, participating in group therapy, or spending reflective time alone.

In Her Own Words

Sadie, podcast host and former McLean patient, chats with 3East’s Dr. Blaise Aguirre about teen mental health, dialectical behavior therapy, persistence, and how 3East helped Sadie take ownership of her life.

Treatment Approach

3East’s continuum of programs specializes in intensive dialectical behavior therapy (DBT)—a cognitive behavioral treatment approach that emphasizes the development of four skill sets: mindfulness, interpersonal effectiveness, emotion regulation, and distress tolerance.

An evidence-based therapy, DBT has been clinically proven to be effective in adolescents and adults with borderline and related personality disorders, along with other co-occurring disorders.

One of the core principles of DBT is the balance of acceptance and change. 3East’s intensive treatment provides the structure to help individuals acquire the skills they need to reduce or eliminate behaviors that are dangerous or are hindrances to self-growth and healthy functioning.

Our expert clinicians use validation strategies and cognitive behavioral protocols to help teens and young adults stay committed to treatment as they attempt the challenge of changing well-established behaviors, like cutting or other types of self-harm.

Teacher in a classroom at McLean

Staff at 3East have chosen to specialize in teen mental health and are committed to providing compassionate care to help young people work toward recovery

Upon admission to each program, patients receive a thorough evaluation by a specialized clinician in consultation with the program medical director.

The evaluation may entail discussion of both short- and long-term medication treatment options, preferred therapy modalities, family interventions, transitional care planning, and educational recommendations.

Learn more about child and adolescent mental health.

If needed, additional specialty consultations are available for eating disorders, neurology, trauma, educational testing, and attention deficit disorder (ADD/ADHD).

Following the initial consultations, a multidisciplinary team of clinicians and clinical support staff works to identify issues that may support or reinforce a patient’s unhealthy behaviors, factors that may get in the way of more healthy and adaptive behaviors, and considers the individual’s history, personal circumstances, and diagnoses to develop a customized treatment plan for long-term growth.

Components of each program include mindfulness practice, classroom-based DBT skills groups, individual DBT, group therapy, skills coaching, and guidance for parents.

At the residential level of care, we also provide case management, medication evaluation and management, milieu therapy, and recreational therapies including yoga, art, music groups, and additional services for parents.

“My family appreciates the staff’s caring attention, exceptional devotion, and staunch support of our daughter during a tremendously difficult time. It’s not an exaggeration that McLean saved her life.”– Parent of a former 3East patient

In addition to DBT, the programs also utilize DBT+prolonged exposure (DBT+PE)—an evidence-based therapy that has increasingly become the gold standard treatment for anxiety disorders and trauma.

This approach exposes patients to the thoughts, memories, emotions, and settings related to specific traumas, fears, or invalidation and helps them learn to safely re-experience what they had been avoiding until the symptoms begin to diminish.

Over time, patients will learn to effectively manage their fears and anxieties, and their symptoms will reduce in intensity.

At 3East, we strive for a balance of structure and flexibility so that our programs are well-rounded and can provide opportunities for individuals to incorporate their new skills into everyday activities.

We organize short excursions to bookstores, craft stores, and restaurants, as well as to outdoor areas in nice weather.

Articles About 3East and Adolescent Mental Health

Levels of Care

To accommodate the growing demand for DBT services as well as the broad range of needs of our patients, 3East offers several programs, from intensive residential treatment to more independent residential care to outpatient therapy.

Components throughout the continuum of care include intensive DBT treatment, individual and group therapy, mindfulness practice, skills coaching, and parent skills training and guidance.

Intensive Residential Programs

Located on McLean’s Arlington campus, the 3East Intensive Residential Programs are best suited to adolescents experiencing self-harm, suicidal thoughts and behavior, impulsivity, depression (including suicidal depression), anxiety, disordered eating, alcohol and drug addiction, and trauma/post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), who need concentrated treatment and the 24-hour care of a residential program.

Patients are immersed in the DBT curriculum to build upon their progress and reach individual goals.

Designed to engage patients in their treatment, each day is carefully planned with a combination of individual therapy, classroom-based skills training, focused group therapy, treatment assignments, leisure time, and recreational activities.

Each program has a minimum length of stay, which allows the treatment team to determine the most effective way for each patient to address individual challenges and achieve goals. It also provides patients and their family members with the greatest opportunity to learn the strategies necessary to begin integrating new skills into their everyday lives.

Day Treatment (Partial Hospitalization)

Aimed at individuals who are motivated to learn and practice DBT skills to manage their symptoms and improve their level of functioning in the community, the 3East Partial Hospital Program is a Monday through Friday outpatient day program for teens and young adults ages 14 to early 20s.

Our program is designed to treat high school and college aged individuals.

The program is best suited for individuals not in need of residential care, who are learning DBT for the first time, or who are having difficulty effectively using outpatient DBT therapy. We also provide those who have stepped down from the 3East Intensive Programs the opportunity to strengthen their treatment achievements and generalize their skills use.

Located on McLean’s Arlington campus, the partial hospital program operates year round, weekdays from 8:30am to 3pm. The program accepts rolling admissions and is 20 business days (4 weeks) in length.

Our day program accepts up to 12 participants at a time and provides an intensive daily treatment structure, which facilitates faster skill acquisition. We focus on identifying behaviors that may hinder an individual’s capacity to advance to the outpatient treatment setting while teaching new skills that support ongoing healthy functioning.

Program components include group therapy, especially DBT skills groups focusing on the four modules of DBT—mindfulness, distress tolerance, emotion regulation, and interpersonal effectiveness.

We also offer individual DBT therapy, transitional/vocational therapy, skills coaching for students and their parents, and a weekly two-hour parent skills training and support group.

Our expert clinical team offers medication consultation, family therapy, and specialized consultations. Groups are kept to a small size, with one-on-one skills coaching readily available.

Patient and clinician walk down hall

Patients at 3East benefit from DBT skill building to learn to manage their mental health

Outpatient Treatment

At the 3East DBT Outpatient Clinic, located at McLean’s Child and Adolescent Outpatient Services in Cambridge, Massachusetts, we provide treatment for adolescents and young adults between the ages of 8 and 22.

We specialize in identifying and treating depression and risky behavior that may include suicidal ideation and suicidal thoughts, substance use, disordered eating, risky sexual behavior, and other forms of risk-taking. This coed program provides individual, family, and multi-family group sessions throughout the week.

Pre-Adolescent Outpatient Track (ages 8-12)

Program participants make a minimum 30-week commitment.

Our treatment approach engages the patient and family in targeting treatment areas such as managing difficult or intense emotions, navigating interpersonal problems, tolerating distress, learning effective parenting techniques to manage emotions, reducing disruptive behaviors, and improving communication.

Adolescent Outpatient Track (ages 13-22)

Program participants make a minimum 20-week commitment. Our treatment approach engages the patient and family in targeting five treatment areas—confusion about self, impulsivity, emotional instability, interpersonal problems, and parent-teen problems.

Upon reaching their treatment goals, patients are invited to participate in graduate groups, designed to help maintain accomplishments and provide continued support to teens and young adults as they strive to build a more fulfilling life.

Outpatient services in both tracks include weekly individual family therapy and weekly multi-family skills groups, weekly individual therapy sessions, and skills coaching to support effective use of skills outside of treatment.

Admission & Cost

Admission

The 3East continuum of care is designed to provide individualized programs for teens and young adults who have symptoms of self-harm/self-mutilation (such as cutting), impulsivity, depression, anxiety, disordered eating, suicidal thoughts and behavior, drug and alcohol misuse, and trauma including post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

Our expert clinicians use intensive dialectical behavior therapy (DBT) to help individuals progress through treatment and build the skills and strategies they need to lead stable, meaningful, and productive lives.

We accept patients from across the United States and around the world, and can help arrange admission from most domestic or international locations.

Our self-pay programs offer varying levels of care to address the specific needs, diagnoses, and challenges of each of our patients. The programs are specifically designed to provide options for patients at different phases of the treatment and recovery process.

For more information, or to make a referral, please contact an admission coordinator:

Residential Programs

Phone: 617.855.2820
Email: @email

Partial Hospital (Day) Program

Phone: 617.855.2820
Email: @email

Outpatient Clinic

Phone: 617.674.5332

We hope to answer your call directly or will return your call/email within one business day.

We work with families and referring clinicians to determine whether our programs are an appropriate option for each young person. A preliminary screening is conducted over the phone to gather as much pertinent information as possible and to explain our mission and the specifics of our programs.

Cost

  • 3East Intensive Residential Program: $1,800 per day with a 42-day minimum length of stay
  • 3East Intensive Step-Down Program, with a daytime partial hospital program: $1,800 per day
  • 3East Partial Hospital Program: $900 per day
  • 3East DBT Outpatient Clinic: $5,500 self-pay service fee, with insurance covering individual therapy, family therapy, and medication management—length of stay is variable

The programs in the 3East continuum of care are primarily self-pay. Most programs do not accept insurance or assist with insurance reimbursement efforts.

Some treatment services in the 3East DBT Outpatient Clinic are insurance-based and outpatient program staff are available to answer insurance-related questions.

For more information on what is included in the residential day rate, see below.

Treatment Team

Program Leadership

Photo of Dr. Blaise Aguirre

Blaise Aguirre, MD, The Michael Hollander, PhD, Endowed Director, 3East Continuum

Dr. Aguirre is an expert in child, adolescent, and adult psychotherapy including dialectical behavior therapy (DBT) and medication evaluation and management. He is nationally and internationally recognized for his extensive work in the treatment of mood and personality disorders in adolescents. Dr. Aguirre is the author of several books and lectures regularly in Europe, Africa, and the Middle East on borderline personality disorder and DBT.

Photo of Dr. Alan Fruzzetti

Alan E. Fruzzetti, PhD, Director, Training in Family Services, 3East Continuum

Dr. Fruzetti is the director of Family Services within the 3East Continuum at McLean Hospital and an internationally recognized clinician, researcher, and trainer in the areas of DBT, validation, and couples therapy. He has developed multiple successful DBT programs for various clinical populations and families and has authored more than 100 research and clinical papers and book chapters.

Sara Land, PhD

Sara Land, PhD, Program Director, 3East Residential Programs

Dr. Land specializes in treating adolescents and young adults who are struggling with emotional dysregulation, self-harm, and suicidality. She has conducted research on the quality of the relationship between therapist and patient in DBT, and how this relates to treatment outcomes. Dr. Land values forming strong, respect-based relationships with her patients and finding opportunities for playfulness and humor in treatment whenever possible.

Sophia L. Maurasse, MD

Sophia L. Maurasse, MD, Medical Director, 3East Residential Programs

Dr. Maurasse has a longstanding interest and experience in treating medically ill patients with psychiatric disorders and in the use of behavioral interventions. She is especially interested in her patients’ relationship to their disorders and the treatment used to address them, using DBT in understanding adaptive and maladaptive eating behaviors, resilience, and the impact of the culture of medicine.

Roger Pottanat, MD

Roger Pottanat, MD, Associate Medical Director, 3East Residential Programs

Dr. Pottanat is a child and adolescent psychiatrist with over seven years of practicing in the community. He is passionate about providing comprehensive and novel treatment options to patients with challenging psychiatric disorders. Dr. Pottanat is also a staff psychiatrist at McLean’s Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS) Service. Previously, he launched and directed one of the first non-academic TMS centers in the Boston area.

Photo of Dr. Judith Mintz

Judith Mintz, PhD, Director of Clinical Services, 3East Residential Programs

As a psychologist and director of clinical services at 3East since the program opened in 2007, Dr. Mintz has developed a specialization in treating young women and girls who experience emotional dysregulation, self-harm, and suicidal behaviors. She has extensive training and experience using several treatment modalities including DBT, family therapy, and treatments for traumatized children.

Peggy Worden, PsyD

Peggy Worden, PsyD, Program and Clinical Director, 3East Partial Hospital Program

Dr. Worden is a senior child and adolescent psychologist with 15 years of experience treating adolescents, children, and families. From 2000 to 2009, Dr. Worden was the clinical director of McLean’s Adolescent Acute Residential Treatment Program dual diagnosis unit. In 2009, she partnered with Dr. Michael Hollander and created the 3East Partial Hospital Program.

Alison M. Yaeger, PsyD

Alison M. Yaeger, PsyD, Program Director, 3East DBT Outpatient Clinic

Dr. Yaeger received her PsyD from Yeshiva University in Bronx, New York. While training at Montefiore Medical Center, she became interested in borderline personality disorder in adolescence and the correlation this personality style shares with chronic suicidal ideation and self-harming behaviors. Dr. Yaeger specializes in DBT, particularly in the treatment of adolescents and young adults. She has extensive experience treating and supervising the care of high-risk, multi-problem adolescents.

Staff and Associates

The 3East staff consists of compassionate, multidisciplinary clinicians who have chosen to specialize in working with teenagers and young adults and have extensive experience in teaching DBT skills to individuals with emerging traits of borderline personality disorder and other complex psychiatric diagnoses.

Our clinicians have extensive experience working with patients from diverse cultural and socioeconomic backgrounds from across the country and around the world.

We take the time to get to know our patients and pride ourselves on the highly specialized and effective treatment we provide to address the varying and often challenging problems presented by this population.

Collaborating with family, community-based clinicians, schools, and social service agencies, we work to establish realistic treatment goals and aftercare planning for each adolescent or young adult.

The 3East programs operate within the Simches Division of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, led by Daniel P. Dickstein, MD, FAAP.

Accommodations

The continuum of care at 3East offers young people the care they need in settings designed to allow them to focus on recovery. All of our programs boast well-appointed treatment areas and serene environments designed with privacy and comfort in mind.

Our Intensive and Intensive Step Down Programs are located at McLean’s Arlington campus, Massachusetts. The comfortable, dorm-like environment of these residential programs allows our teenage and young adult patients to feel secure and focus on their treatment and well-being.

Single and double bedrooms throughout our facilities offer plenty of natural light. Individuals in our intensive programs can opt for catered meals or order takeout food and can utilize our dining area for communal meals. We also offer a classroom for those who are ready to devote time to academics while continuing their treatment.

Young women talk sitting on couches

3East residential programs are located at McLean’s Arlington campus

Part of residential treatment is learning to apply new coping strategies to everyday activities. Program outings are arranged on a regular basis, including dining at restaurants or other community activities designed so patients can work on improving social skills.

Located in nearby Cambridge, Massachusetts, the 3East Cambridge Transitional Residence is a modern ten-bedroom home-like setting. A modern and spacious kitchen is among the many amenities we offer. Patients can converse over catered or home-cooked dinners in the residence, or as they dine at restaurants in Cambridge.

Our location offers proximity to an eclectic mix of museums, music, restaurants, boutiques, and theaters. Easy access to public transportation allows individuals to make use of all the resources available in the Greater Boston area.

Patients often engage in part-time employment, academics, and/or volunteer activities in the local communities.

Since the 3East residential programs are intensive and highly structured, we make it a priority to schedule time throughout the week for recreational opportunities. We emphasize the importance of creating a healthy balance of activities, with time for mindfulness, yoga, and exercise, and opportunities for self-expression through art, crafts, and music.

Frequently Asked Questions

Where is 3East located?

The 3East programs are primarily on McLean’s Arlington, Massachusetts campus. McLean’s Child and Adolescent Outpatient Services located at Sancta Maria Hospital in Cambridge, Massachusetts, is home to the 3East DBT Outpatient Clinic.

The 3East Cambridge Transitional Residence is also located in nearby Cambridge. For more information on directions, parking, and local accommodations, please visit our Maps & Directions page.

Who benefits most from the 3East continuum?

Our programs offer a range of treatment options for adolescents and young adults, ages 13 to 25, who have symptoms of self-injury, impulsivity, depression, anxiety, disordered eating, emerging personality disorders, substance use disorders, and post-traumatic stress disorder.

Is family involved in treatment?

Family participation is an integral part of treatment at 3East to support both the patient and also the family members.

In the residential programs, families participate in weekly DBT family therapy and we offer parent skill groups so that parents can learn and practice DBT skills and get support from other parents. Families are also incorporated into day program and outpatient treatment.

Is smoking permitted?

3East discourages smoking and is not allowed in some programs. Check with program staff for details on smoking policies in each program.

Smoking is allowed in designated outdoor areas only. No smoking is allowed inside any of our buildings.

When are visiting hours in the residential programs?

Visitors are permitted, following program policies. Visiting hours are 2-8pm, seven days a week.

Please speak to the patient’s treatment team for more information. Additional details can be found on the Visitors page.

Are cell phones allowed?

Cell phone permissions vary by program. In the intensive residential programs, cell phone usage is part of the behavioral level system. Typically, patients become eligible for limited access to their cell phones after the first few weeks of treatment, depending on their treatment course and DBT skill level.

Is the patient’s participation in the programs kept private?

Privacy is of the utmost importance to 3East and we ensure confidentiality through our highly trained, professional, and discreet staff. No third party, whether known to the patient or not, has access to medical records, health information, or any program participation without prior, written authorization from the patient.

Are academics offered at the residential programs?

While our priority is treatment, we recognize the importance of education. Typically, after the initial phase of residential treatment some patients may be able to manage focusing on schoolwork after the completion of the clinical day.

If it is consistent with a patient’s ongoing treatment plan, program staff works with the adolescent’s school and family to develop a realistic academic plan that may be implemented during treatment. This may involve program staff helping families identify private tutors who can work with their child while at 3East.

Are support and educational resources available?

From helpful online resources to self-help groups and more, McLean Hospital is committed to providing support and mental health education to aid patients and families on the path to recovery.

Is aftercare planning a part of the programs?

The treatment team works closely with the individual as well as with family, significant friends, and outside providers to develop a personalized aftercare plan. Recommendations by staff are made based upon clinical needs, progress made during treatment, and long-term treatment goals.

Can former patients access their medical records?

All requests for medical records should be directed to McLean’s Health Information Management Department.

Are support groups offered?

To complement our programs’ services and encourage individuals’ initiatives in their own treatment course, many self-help groups are hosted by McLean.

Does McLean gather patient feedback?

McLean is dedicated to maintaining high-quality and effective patient care. To ensure that those standards remain at the highest level, we utilize a number of feedback instruments and quality indicators.

Among these tools are the Perceptions of Care survey, which monitors patient satisfaction, and BASIS-24™, a psychiatric outcomes measurement tool created at McLean and widely used in the U.S. and around the world, which delivers feedback on the patient care experience.

What is included in the 3East residential day rate?

Clinical services such as:

  • Individual dialectical behavior therapy (DBT) and skills training
  • Parent skills training, family meetings/therapy
  • 24-hour skills coaching for patients and parents
  • Cognitive behavior therapy (CBT)
  • Group therapy, medication evaluation and management
  • Internal medicine, lab studies
  • Nursing care
  • Case management
  • Aftercare planning

Ancillary clinical services, as clinically indicated:

  • Psychological testing
  • Specialty psychiatric consultations
  • Additional lab studies

McLean Is Here to Help

If you are a teen or young adult you don’t have to struggle alone. You or your parent/guardian can contact us today to talk to a member of our admission staff about the treatment options at the 3East Adolescent DBT Programs.

617.855.2820