Nunc Coepi Scholarship: Begin Again with Support for DBT Therapy in Cincinnati, Ohio

The Nunc Coepi Scholarship is a financial-assistance program offered by the FightLikeTania Foundation and Cincinnati Center for DBT that reduces the cost of DBT group therapy for clients with financial hardship.

The Nunc Coepi Scholarship is designed to assist individuals who are experiencing financial hardship and would otherwise be unable to participate in DBT Skills Group. Applicants must demonstrate genuine financial need, commit to attending regularly and contributing 50% of the group fee, and meet with an individual therapist at least every other week for individualized support. That therapist does not have to be with Cincinnati Center for DBT - it can be someone in-network for me elsewhere.

To apply, complete the short application form and submit it to our team for review.

The Nunc Coepi Scholarship, funded by FightLikeTania, covers the full cost of the DBT group intake fee and DBT skills book, as well as 50% of each group session fee. The client (or designated payor) is responsible for paying the remaining 50% per group session. See our current fees here.

The Nunc Coepi Cincinnati Center for DBT scholarship typically lasts for one 24-week DBT group cycle. Renewal may be available based on need and fund availability.

If needing to miss a session, clients are still responsible for their portion of the group fee and the scholarship will cover the other 50%.

We’re honored when members of our community want to join in our. mission to expand access to evidence-based mental health care. The Nunc Coepi DBT Scholarship was established in collaboration with the FightLikeTania Foundation, a nonprofit created in memory of Tania de la Rosa Garzon to continue her mission of supporting those facing mental health challenges.

If you’d like to contribute to this scholarship or explore creating a new scholarship fund through Cincinnati Center for DBT, please reach out to us at info@cincinnaticenterfordbt.com. We’ll connect you with our leadership team to discuss your goals and the most meaningful way to structure your support, whether that’s contributing to an existing fund, sponsoring therapy access for clients in need, or establishing a new named scholarship.

Determining if DBT is right for you involves reflecting on your emotional experiences and challenges. Here are some signs that DBT might be a good fit:

• Intense Emotions: If you frequently feel overwhelmed by your emotions, such as anger, sadness, or anxiety, and find it hard to manage them, DBT can help you develop coping strategies.
• Self-Harm or Suicidal Thoughts: If you’ve engaged in self-harm or experienced suicidal thoughts, urges, or actions, DBT provides a structured and supportive environment to address these issues safely.
• Difficulty with Relationships: If you struggle to maintain friendships or have frequent conflicts with friends or family members, DBT focuses on improving communication and relationship skills.
• Impulsivity: If you find yourself making impulsive decisions that lead to negative consequences, DBT teaches skills to help you pause and make more thoughtful choices.
• Desire for Change: If you’re motivated to learn and practice new skills and want to create a more balanced and fulfilling life, DBT offers practical tools to facilitate that change.
• Willingness to monitor and practice behaviors outside of session: DBT is a “doing” therapy, so clients get the best outcomes when they fully participate in the therapy.  This includes completing weekly skills homework practice assignments and daily diary card monitoring.  Clients are expected to practice the skills they learn in group each week in their lives and come back and report on how their practice went.  Those engaging in comprehensive DBT will complete a daily DBT diary card, where they will track their emotions, behaviors, urges, and actions, allowing the client and their therapist to focus on the most important targets in their sessions. 

If you resonate with any of these experiences, DBT may be a beneficial option for you. It's best to consult with a mental health professional who can help assess your specific needs and determine the most appropriate course of treatment, which is exactly what your therapist will do during your initial intake session at Cincinnati Center for DBT.

This is something best discussed with your individual therapist.  Your therapist will discuss your goals, targets, and what’s bringing you to therapy and collaborate with you to decide the best plan for you.  Although everyone could benefit from learning DBT skills, some clients will benefit most from engaging in comprehensive DBT, which includes individual DBT therapy and phone coaching, in addition to the DBT skills group.  Clients who are good candidates for comprehensive DBT are those who: self-harm or have frequent urges to engage in self-harm or suicide attempts; experience problems with substance use or addiction; have an eating disorder; have been diagnosed with borderline personality disorder (BPD); have difficulty staying in mental health treatment; experience significant impulsivity and problems in relationships; find that their symptoms interfere with their ability to have a reasonable quality of life (e.g., attend or do well at work or in school, get along with friends or partners, or have relationships with their family).

Anyone who participates in a DBT skills training group is required to engage in individual therapy at least every other week to support them while they are in group.  However, not everyone requires comprehensive DBT.  Your therapist will be happy to discuss your treatment needs with you.

Our DBT skills training group meets weekly for two hours for a total of 24 weeks.  It is important to attend each session in order to learn all of the critical skills.

For individual therapy, clients should meet with their individual therapist at least every other week to support them while they’re in group.  If they are participating in comprehensive DBT, we recommend weekly individual sessions.

You don’t have to do anything, and there are a lot of benefits to participating in a DBT skills training group as opposed to learning the skills in individual therapy:

• DBT skills training is more like a class than a psychotherapy group.  In the past, you may have participated in a psychotherapy group or seen psychotherapy or support groups in TV shows or movies.  Oftentimes, when people think of group therapy, they think of a bunch of people sitting around sharing intimate details about themselves and crying a bunch.  That is NOT skills training!  DBT skills training is structured like a class where your skills trainers teach you skills, help you practice skills, and review how you practiced skills between classes.  The format is highly structured and there isn’t much room for discussion outside of learning and practicing skills.  We’ve had many clients feel apprehensive about starting DBT skills training due to preconceived notions about group therapy, but once they started group and experienced the structure of it, they were glad they joined.
• DBT skills groups allow for exponentially more learning than when skills are delivered one-on-one.  In DBT class, you get to hear how other group members are applying the skills and you get to learn from the feedback the skills trainers provide to the other group members.  Oftentimes, another group member may apply a skill in a situation similar to what you’re going through, when you didn’t even realize that skill could be helpful in your situation.  Other group members may ask questions, make comments, or share examples that further your understanding of the skill.
• You will learn that you’re not alone.  When people are suffering, they often think that they are alone in their pain and that others couldn’t understand it.  They might feel afraid of or uncomfortable sharing their emotional pain, concerned that people will judge them.  Sometimes they’ve even had the experience of others invalidating, judging, or making fun of them for how they feel.  Clients who participate in DBT skills group learn that they are not alone and learn that group is a safe place to take off the mask and practice using skills to solve problems.  Although not everyone in group is dealing with the same problems or diagnoses, everyone in group is there to learn how to manage their emotions and relationships better.

When developing DBT, Dr. Marsha Linehan found that it was extremely difficult to try to address a client’s individual problems and goals AND teach them new skills in a single session.  When she tried, she found that either the individual problems or the skills did not get the amount of time or attention needed.  That’s why she decided it was more effective for clients to attend one individual DBT session and one DBT skills training group per week.  In skills training group, clients attend a class focused on learning needed coping skills.  In individual sessions, the client and therapist focus on the client's individualized goals and targets; the therapist helps the client use the skills they learn in group in their specific situations.

DBT skills training groups are very different from traditional psychotherapy or interpersonal process groups.

While traditional therapy groups often focus on sharing personal experiences, emotions, and gaining insight through group discussion, DBT skills groups are structured more like a class. The primary focus is on teaching and practicing specific behavioral skills that help participants manage emotions, tolerate distress, and improve relationships.

In DBT group:

• Members are not expected to share personal stories in depth
• Disclosure is limited to how they applied the skills during the previous week
• Participation is focused on learning, not emotional processing

Group members are encouraged to reflect on and share how they used that week’s assigned skill in real-life situations. Any additional personal information shared is entirely at the client’s discretion.

This format makes DBT skills group accessible, practical, and safe, especially for clients who may feel overwhelmed in traditional group therapy settings. It also complements ongoing individual therapy, rather than replacing it.

DBT is a 24-week commitment because it takes 24 weeks to get through the DBT skills curriculum.  You will learn the mindfulness skills several times throughout your group commitment because these are the core skills needed to effectively use the other DBT skills!  We also spend 6-8 weeks in each of the distress tolerance, emotion regulation, and interpersonal effectiveness modules. 

DBT was originally designed as a one-year treatment, during which clients went through the full six-month commitment of skills two times.  However, research has shown that not all clients need two go through the skills twice.  As of this writing, research has not determined who exactly needs a full year of skills versus six months.  We encourage you to discuss your progress, goals, and options with your individual therapist, skills trainers, and family members when considering graduating or recommitting to DBT skills group.  Our clinicians will review your clinical outcome data with you and discuss your progress so that you can make an informed decision about how long you want to be in DBT.

The fee for our two-hour DBT skills group is $115 per group. In order to attend, the client must commit to attending group for 24-weeks (the length of time required to cover all of the critical skills). 

For individual therapy, cost varies depending on the therapist, but you can expect to pay between $130-$235 per individual session.  Clients are required to attend individual therapy at least every other week to support them while they are in group.  If cost is a barrier or you prefer to use insurance, you're welcome to see a clinician outside of our practice while participating in our skills group.  

Clients who participate in our comprehensive DBT program have access to 24/7 phone coaching with their therapist completely free of charge.   

For more information on fees and insurance, please see our Fees page.