Ms. Kiran Tevtiya
Child Psychologist
M.A (Psychology)
Experience: 9+ Years
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Just like the Gym is for your body, Therapy is for your Mind
Dr. Sneha Sharma
Psychiatrist, Anvaya Healthcare
Children who experience intense emotions, frequent meltdowns, impulsive behaviour, self-harm thoughts, anger outbursts, or difficulty coping with stress may benefit from Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT). Our experienced child psychologists and psychiatrists provide evidence-based online DBT therapy for children and adolescents across India, helping young people develop emotional regulation, distress tolerance, mindfulness, and healthy communication skills from the comfort of home.
DBT adapted for children from age 8–9 upwards
Weeks for a full DBT skills programme
Online Access
Core skill sets taught in every programme
Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) is a goal-oriented psychotherapy approach that helps people develop skills to cope with overwhelming emotions, strengthen interpersonal relationships, and respond to challenges in healthier ways. Grounded in scientific research, DBT is commonly used to support individuals struggling with emotional instability, anxiety, depression, self-destructive behaviors, trauma-related concerns, and personality-related difficulties.
At Anvaya Healthcare, DBT is approached as a practical framework for everyday living. Rather than focusing solely on symptom reduction, it equips individuals with effective tools to understand their emotions, navigate stressful situations, and build a meaningful balance between self-acceptance and personal growth.
There’s a particular kind of struggle some children have with their emotions that goes beyond ordinary moodiness. One moment they’re fine; the next they’re flooded — overwhelmed by feelings that arrive fast, hit hard, and are almost impossible for them to manage. These children aren’t being difficult on purpose. Their nervous system is genuinely more reactive than most, and without the right kind of help, this pattern tends to intensify rather than settle on its own.
Dialectical Behaviour Therapy, or DBT, was developed specifically for people who experience emotions intensely and struggle to regulate them. Adapted for children and adolescents, dialectical behaviour therapy for adolescents teaches practical skills — not insights or realisations, but actual techniques that a child can reach for in the moment when feelings become overwhelming. The four core areas it works on are: being present and grounded, tolerating distress without making things worse, understanding and managing emotions, and communicating effectively with the people around them.
In India, DBT for adolescents is increasingly being used in clinical settings. A trial conducted at the Central Institute of Psychiatry (CIP) in Ranchi found DBT-A to be an effective addition to treatment for adolescents with emotion dysregulation, including improvements in the ability to manage difficult emotional states.
CIP’s child and adolescent psychiatry centre specifically adapted the DBT-A module for the Indian context, establishing its relevance for Indian children and families.
The children who tend to benefit most from DBT share a particular profile. It’s worth recognizing:
that shift quickly and seem out of proportion — not just being moody, but emotional states that flood the child so fast that by the time a parent notices and tries to respond, the situation has already escalated
crying, screaming, throwing things, or shutting down completely — that the child themselves often can't explain afterwards
acting before thinking, whether that means saying something harmful, storming out of a situation, or making decisions in the heat of the moment that cause problems
any indication that a child is hurting themselves, even in ways that seem minor, should be taken seriously and assessed promptly
friendships that break down repeatedly, conflict with teachers, or a child who seems to push away the people they most want to be close to If several of these feel familiar, and they've been going on consistently rather than just in a difficult patch, DBT is worth considering.
DBT was not designed as a general-purpose therapy. It has a specific focus: emotion dysregulation and the behaviours that come with it. The conditions where it’s most relevant for children are:
when a child’s emotional responses are consistently intense, rapid, and difficult to recover from, regardless of whether there’s a formal diagnosis attached. Some children have simply never been taught the tools to manage what they feel.
particularly the type where anxiety flares suddenly and intensely, and where the child’s response (fleeing, shutting down, catastrophising) makes the situation worse rather than better.
when anger arrives fast, is expressed explosively, and the child has minimal ability to slow the process down before things escalate. DBT’s distress tolerance skills are particularly useful here.
impulsive behaviour, defiance, and the relational fallout from emotional intensity are often the most visible part of what DBT addresses at a practical level.
trauma frequently manifests as emotional dysregulation, and DBT skills provide a stabilising layer of support before or alongside deeper trauma-focused work.
ADHD is not just attention; it involves emotional impulsivity that is often as disruptive as the attention symptoms. DBT skills address this dimension directly.
What's happening, how long, escalation patterns, and what's been tried before.
Age-appropriate evaluation of emotions, triggers, and existing strengths.
Specific, measurable targets — not vague aspirations.
Weekly skill review, practice, and between-session homework.
Sessions follow a structured format: reviewing how the week went, identifying moments where skills were used or could have been, practising specific techniques, and setting targets for the week ahead. Home practice is built into the model — DBT doesn’t work as well if the learning only happens in the therapy room. The Anvaya Healthcare team supports families through each phase of this process, not just the in-session work.
DBT is organised around four skill sets. Here’s what each one actually means for a child:
The changes that families typically see over a sustained course of DBT:
Better daily functioning — school, friendships, and home life are all affected when emotions are dysregulated; as regulation improves, everything connected to it tends to follow
DBT is explicitly designed to involve parents. This isn’t incidental — it’s part of why it works:
Child Psychologist
M.A (Psychology)
Experience: 9+ Years
TALK TO US
Clinical Psychologist
M.A & M.Phil (Clinical Psychology)
Experience: 3+ Years
Clinical Psychologist
MA & M.Phil (Clinical Psychology)
Experience: 3+ Years
Clinical Psychologist
MA (Clinical Psychology), RCI Registered
Clinical Psychologist
MA (Clinical Psychology), RCI Registered
Experience: 5+ Years
Clinical Psychologist
M.Phil, RCI Registered
Experience: 5+ Years
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Our team works with children on emotional dysregulation specifically — not just as one condition among many, but as a clinical focus. The nuances of how DBT needs to be adapted for a 7-year-old versus a 14-year-old require experience that's specific to this age group.
DBT has a structure, but how it's applied — which skills are prioritised, how parent involvement is shaped, how home practice is set up — needs to fit this particular child and this particular family. That personalisation is built into how we work, not an afterthought.
The children who need DBT most are often the ones who've been managing their struggles largely alone, with adults around them who are exhausted and sometimes at the end of their patience. We approach both the child and the family without judgment.
Where medication support is needed alongside therapy, both are available under the same roof. Our centres in Dwarka, Vasant Vihar, and Gurugram offer DBT-informed therapy for children, with online sessions for families anywhere in India.
DBT adapted for children can be used from around age 8 or 9, and is most commonly used with children and teenagers from 10 upwards. The skills are adapted in their language and delivery to suit the child's developmental stage.
A full DBT skills programme typically runs for 16 to 24 weeks, covering each of the four skill areas in depth. Many children continue with follow-up sessions after this to consolidate and apply what they've learned.
For older children and for parent involvement components, yes. For younger children or for the initial assessment phase, in-person is preferred.
Yes — and for younger children, parent involvement in sessions is often part of the structure rather than optional. Parents learning the skills alongside a child significantly improves outcomes.
Second floor, Plot No 28,
Sector-12A Rd, Block A,
Sector 12 Dwarka
Call Now: +91-9810659825
Ground Floor, Plot No. - E-7/5, Block E,
Vasant Vihar, South Delhi
Call Now: +91-9650277301
1 in every 5 individuals
suffers from some form of mental health illness






















































