Learn and Earn Over Lunch Series
Thanks for being part of our community!
The Learn and Earn over Lunch series is an opportunity to earn free NBCC approved continuing education credits from outstanding trainers, while you eat lunch! Join us online (via Zoom) from noon to 1:00pm Pacific Time every month on the second Wednesday.
In addition, feel free to take a look at our other training offerings as well as employment opportunities at PDBTI!
The Role of Zen in DBT
Randy Wolbert, MSW, Zen Roshi
November 12th, 2025
Registration will close November 11th, 2025
DBT is the synthesis on Behavior Therapy and Zen Practice. Zen is the basis of reality acceptance, validation, and core mindfulness. The practice of core mindfulness skills are essential for all of the skills. In addition to being a world renown psychologist and treatment developer, Marsha was also a Zen Master and teacher. Zen fingerprints are found all over the treatment. This workshop will provide brief overview of the importance of Zen based mindfulness to DBT and provide instruction and practice of Zen meditation. The workshop will be didactic and experiential and beneficial for DBT practitioners of all levels.
Learning Objectives
By the conclusion of this event, participants will be able to:
- Understand how to practice daily meditation
- Describe the dialectical interface of Behavior Therapy and Zen
Instructor | Randy Wolbert Zen Master Serene Cloud (寂雲 Jaku-un)
Randy was a student of Marsha Linehan Roshi and Gregory Mayers Roshi. In 2016 he was given authorization to teach in the Empty Cloud Lineage of Zen by Willigis Jager Roshi. This was confirmed by Linehan Roshi in 2018. Having completed koan study with Mayers he received transmission as a Zen Master in 2021. He is the 89th successor to Shakyamuni Buddha and the 47 Successor of Lin-Chi. When Marsh Linehan retired from Zen teaching in 2018, Randy took over the role as the authorized teacher for Empty Cloud Sangha, Inc.
In addition to Zen sesshins in the United States he has lead sesshins and Zen Based Mindfulness Trainings in 12 different countries. He has 34 Zen students from around the world.
He remains actively affiliated with the Empty Cloud Lineage in Germany and with Greg Mayers and his dharma heirs.
Randy is a highly experienced trainer of Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT). He was a full-time and contractual DBT trainer with Behavioral Tech for 25 years, the dissemination organization established by DBT founder, Marsha Linehan.
Prior to his role at Behavioral Tech, Wolbert worked for 25 years as the Clinical Director of InterAct of Michigan, where he had responsibility for several teams, including those covering DBT, dual disorders, and assertive community treatment.
A Licensed Master Social Worker (LMSW), He was previously a Board Member of the DBT-Linehan Board of Certification.
Randy Wolbert, MSW will be offering a 12 CE hour follow-up to this training!
DBT in Context: Clinical Considerations for Oppressed Populations
Linda Oshin, PhD
December 10th, 2025
Registration will close December 9th, 2025
This presentation will discuss how to address oppression within the context of DBT. It will highlight how to conceptualize oppression and its effects on the individual within clients who are struggling with chronic emotion dysregulation and self-harm behaviors. The presentation will review how the primary strategies of DBT can be viewed within the lens of oppression (e.g., dialectical philosophy, communication strategies, case management, etc.). Clinical examples and common pitfalls will also be addressed.
Learning Objectives
By the conclusion of this event, participants will be able to:
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Identify 2 ways in which individual and systemic oppression can impact individuals experiencing chronic emotion dysregulation and self-harm behaviors.
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Provide examples of 2 DBT strategies that can be implemented to address clients’ experiences of oppression
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Describe 3 common clinical pitfalls when working with marginalized clients
Instructor | Dr. Linda Oshin is an Assistant Professor at the Rutgers University Graduate School of Applied and Professional Psychology. She earned her Ph.D. in clinical psychology from the University of Connecticut. She completed her predoctoral internship at the Yale Department of Psychiatry and her postdoctoral fellowship at GSAPP. Her program of research focuses on the social context of depression, emotion dysregulation, and suicidality among adolescents and young adults of color. Her research goal is to make mental health treatment more effective and accessible to youth of color.
From Complexity to Clarity: Why MED-DBT and How to Target Multiple High-Risk Behaviors in Multidiagnostic Eating Disorders
Anita Federici, PhD FAED
Lucene Wisniewski, PhD FAED
January 14th, 2026
Registration will close January 13th, 2026
Clinicians working with clients who have eating disorders alongside suicidality, self-injury, trauma, neurodiversity, or OCD conditions often find themselves unsure how to effectively manage the eating disorder within the broader clinical picture. Traditional eating disorder and DBT models tend to address these problems in isolation, leaving providers without a clear way to prioritize, sequence, or integrate care when multiple high-risk behaviors occur simultaneously.
Multidiagnostic Eating Disorder–Dialectical Behavior Therapy (MED-DBT) was developed to address these challenges. This 60-minute webinar will provide an overview of MED-DBT, including its rationale, structure, and stage-based approach to organizing treatment for high-risk and multi-layered ED presentations. Special attention will be given to the MED-DBT target hierarchy, a practical framework that helps clinicians prioritize behaviors, maintain therapeutic direction, and support collaboration when multiple problems compete for attention.
Drawing on over two decades of clinical work and program development, Drs. Anita Federici and Lucene Wisniewski will outline how MED-DBT supports real-world decision-making for clients who often fall through the cracks of standard systems of care.
Learning Objectives
By the conclusion of this event, participants will be able to:
- Describe the rationale and structure of MED-DBT.
- Explain how MED-DBT differs from standard ED and DBT models.
- Identify the purpose and application of the MED-DBT target hierarchy.
- Recognize how a stage-based structure enhances safety and collaboration
Instructor | Anita Federici, PhD, C.Psych, FAED, is a clinical psychologist and founder of The Centre for Psychology and Emotion Regulation, specializing in eating disorders, personality disorders, and trauma. An international trainer and consultant, she has delivered over 400 presentations on DBT and ED treatment and co-authored Treating Eating Disorders with DBT: The MED-DBT Protocol.
Instructor | Lucene Wisniewski, PhD, FAED, is a clinician, trainer, and researcher specializing in evidence-based treatments for eating and co-occurring disorders. An Adjunct Assistant Professor at Case Western Reserve University, she has delivered over 150 international trainings and published more than 40 papers. She directs The Center for Evidence Based Treatment Ohio and co-authored Treating Eating Disorders with DBT: The MED-DBT Protocol.
FREE CONTINUING EDUCATION CREDIT
Participants who attend an event in this series will earn one free continuing education credit, NBCC approved.
Portland DBT Institute has been approved by NBCC as an Approved Continuing Education Provider, ACEP No. 6326. Programs that do not qualify for NBCC credit are clearly identified. Portland DBT Institute is solely is responsible for all aspects of the programs.
Portland DBT Institute, Inc. (PDBTI) is approved by the American Psychological Association to sponsor continuing education for psychologists. PDBTI maintains responsibility for this program and its content.
