Hosts and Info

Hello!

Dear DBT is a DBT-based advice podcast hosted by Dr. Erin Sparapani, a licensed clinical psychologist based out of New York. If you’re not familiar, Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) is a robust, skills-based treatment for a whole variety of challenges that bring people to therapy. There are many different ways that concepts from DBT can be helpful, even if you’re not in therapy, or are in another kind of therapy. This podcast focuses on how to help by showing that DBT (like many therapies) is not focused on ONE way of solving your problems. Instead, while there may be an infinite number of problems that you could encounter in the world, there are only really 5 ways that we can respond to those problems. Those are:

  1. Solve the Problem

  2. Change how you feel about the problem

  3. Accept, or tolerate, the problem

  4. Stay miserable

  5. Make it worse

Each week, Erin invites a guest co-host, who is a fellow DBT therapist, to join so that you hear more than one point of view on how to handle any problem.

What types of problems does Dear DBT focus on? Problems that come up between you and other people! That could be family, friends, coworkers, ex-friends, neighbors: really, anyone. Though DBT itself may help with tools for managing your depression, anxiety, anger, etc., those are better suited to your ongoing therapy than a podcast advice format like this one.

About the Host

Dr. Erin Sparapani is a licensed clinical psychologist who works in private practice in Westchester County, NY. She decided to start a podcast after moving to solo practice and having a little more time on her hands, and wanting to do something creative. Erin is passionate about bringing DBT to more people, and knows that formal therapy - DBT or otherwise - is not always accessible to everyone. Even for people in therapy, you don’t always have time to get to all the things in session! Erin’s hope is that this podcast can help some of the specifics of DBT get into the world and help people think more flexibly about what to do when the problem is with another person. Sometimes, we can do things to get them to change their behavior, and sometimes, we can change, too!

Before living in New York, Erin lived and worked in a bunch of places across the US, which introduced her to many amazing people and therapists, many who will join her as a co-host from time to time! Links to their websites and work will be in the show notes.

When she is not working, Erin can usually be found chasing after her two young kids in Queens, NY.