Last week, colleagues from DBT-UK attended the Society for Dialectical Behaviour Therapy UK & Ireland (SfDBT) annual conference, held virtually on 9–10 October 2025 under the theme “DBT and the Body.”
We logged off at the end of Day Two feeling inspired, challenged, and re-energised about how we can bring more body-based awareness into our DBT work at DBT-UK.

Day One: Keynotes and Masterclasses

The first day opened with the Presidential Address by Dr Emily Fox, which set the tone for a conference focused on the interplay between body, emotion, and therapeutic intervention.

Throughout the day, delegates attended masterclasses from the following offerings:

• DBT Benchmarking

• Taking DBT Forward

• Working with Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder

• Understanding Functional Neurological Disorder (FND)

• Cognitive Modification for DBT Therapists

Each masterclass offered practical insights for advancing DBT delivery while highlighting the importance of understanding bodily processes. The session on FND, for example, prompted us to reflect on how physical symptoms can act as meaningful expressions of emotional distress rather than obstacles to therapy. Similarly, the session on Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder encouraged us to consider the physiological and hormonal influences on emotion regulation — areas often underexplored in standard DBT teaching.

In addition to the masterclasses, Amy Gaglia presented Developments in DBT Europe and Worldwide. She highlighted international advances in DBT research, consultation, and clinical practice.

The day’s keynotes were delivered by:

• Dr Deborah Barrett, who discussed DBT for Chronic Pain, emphasising the interaction between physical sensation and emotional regulation.

• Dr Cynthia Price, who explored Interoceptive Awareness Skills for Emotion Regulation, demonstrating practical approaches to help clients notice and respond to bodily sensations as part of DBT skills.

The day concluded with closing remarks from Dr Amy Gaglia, Chair of SfDBT.

Day Two: Workshops on Disordered Eating

Day two focused on in-depth workshops designed for intensive skills application. These included:

• RO‑DBT for Disordered Eating (morning session)

• DBT for Disordered Eating (afternoon session)

Both workshops were highly engaging and clinically relevant. They explored how issues of control, shame, and body awareness are central to disordered eating presentations and how both standard and radically open DBT approaches can be applied. The sessions provided concrete examples and interventions that we can directly integrate into our training and supervision work at DBT-UK.

Reflections from Our Perspective at DBT‑UK

Attending this conference prompted several reflections for our work at DBT‑UK:

1. Bodily awareness is integral to DBT

One of our strongest takeaways was how important it is to explicitly include the body in DBT work. We often teach mindfulness and emotion regulation as primarily cognitive-emotional processes, but the conference reminded us that emotions are fundamentally physiological experiences. Bringing interoceptive awareness into sessions can help clients notice subtle cues of distress or calm, creating opportunities for earlier intervention and deeper self-understanding.

2. Specialist applications benefit from focused workshops

The workshops on disordered eating highlighted how complex presentations benefit from extended, immersive training. It was powerful to see both RO-DBT and standard DBT conceptualised through the lens of embodiment — especially in conditions where control, shame, and identity are closely tied to the body. This format encouraged us to think about how we might expand DBT-UK’s future training offerings to include similar focused intensives.

3. Masterclasses strengthen practical skills

Each masterclass offered something tangible to take back into our work. The session on Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder deepened our understanding of how biological rhythms can interact with emotional vulnerability and how we must cope ahead for those periods. The FND masterclass reminded us to approach somatic symptoms with curiosity and validation, rather than viewing them as barriers to treatment. The Cognitive Modification session was especially valuable for refreshing how we help clients shift thinking patterns in real time — a skill that underpins effective emotion regulation.

4. Keynotes provide frameworks for embodied DBT

Both keynotes complemented each other beautifully, framing embodiment in DBT from different but connected angles. Dr Barrett’s focus on chronic pain underscored how physical suffering can mirror emotional dysregulation, while Dr Price’s interoceptive work provided a method for reconnecting with the body as a resource for regulation. Together, they reminded us that attending to the body is not an optional enhancement in DBT — it’s central to understanding and alleviating distress.

Moving Forward at DBT‑UK

We are already considering how to translate the learning from this conference into our programmes:

• Incorporating interoceptive and body-focused practices into skills training and supervision.

• Adapting clinical strategies for presentations such as FND, premenstrual dysphoric disorder, and disordered eating.

• Supporting therapists in reflecting on the embodied aspects of both client work and their own practice.

Final Thoughts

The 2025 “DBT and the Body” conference was a timely reminder that emotional and physiological experiences are deeply intertwined. For us at DBT‑UK, it reinforced the importance of attending to the body in every aspect of DBT practice — from assessment and formulation to skills training and supervision.

We left feeling inspired to deepen our focus on embodied DBT. From translating the insights from keynotes and masterclasses, to building workshops directly into our clinical work and training offerings.

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