DBT Institute of MI

We are only at step one in this process and it’s already been a great experience! Your residental director is a bright light! You can tell she loves what she does and she believes in the program. I felt better just after speaking with her. Thank you Ashley for giving me hope for my child.

Our daughter attended the residential program at DBTIMI in the fall of 2025, and we are incredibly grateful for the care and support our entire family received. From our very first contact through her entire stay, every staff member we interacted with was kind, compassionate, and genuinely understanding. The skills our daughter gained during her time in the program have been truly invaluable. Just as important, the parent education and support offered through the weekly Friends and Family group were empowering and gave us a renewed sense of hope. Learning the same skills our daughter was practicing provided us with concrete tools to support her day-to-day and during times of need or crisis. DBTIMI not only helped our daughter grow but also strengthened our family’s ability to support her recovery. We are deeply thankful for this program and the dedicated team behind it.

If you’re reading the negative reviews, keep in mind that this place is for people who have tried everything else. It is intense, but that’s why it works. Our daughter is still in the thick of it, but the change is undeniable. While she still struggles with self-harm, the incidents are fewer and farther between, and she is recovering from them much faster than before. She is finally learning to trust her "Wise Mind" instead of her impulses, and with greater relief, so are we. The free weekly support group for family and friends is a lifesaver. It provides the professional advice parents need to stay grounded while supporting a loved one. If you need real survival skills for your family, this is the place.

I wanted to share our experience as parents of an adult daughter in this program because I know how hopeless it feels when you are searching for the right help. DBTI is a place of high accountability and intense skill-building. After reading some of the negative reviews, I want to offer a different perspective for families on the fence: This program is a partnership. My daughter has had to find the 'willingness' to do the work, and the results have been life-changing. It is important to understand the 'Dialectic' (the balance) of this place. Yes, there are rigid structures and sometimes insurance issues that force difficult transitions—our daughter actually had to leave residential before she was clinically ready due to insurance constraints, not a lack of care from the staff. It’s a heartbreaking reality of the mental health system, but the DBTI team worked with us to bridge that gap. One of the most incredible aspects is the Director’s weekly 'Family and Friends' group. It is a free resource where we receive professional support and learn the same skills our daughter is learning. It has changed the way we communicate as a family. To the caregivers who feel hopeless: This isn't a 'quick fix' or a vacation; it is a boot camp for survival. If you and your loved one are ready to commit to the process, this facility provides the tools to build a life worth living. We are so grateful for the expertise and the community here.

I’m happy to say I got to be in the residential program. The staff was awesome and was there for me when I needed skills coaching. Josh and Diana the owners are AWESOME and super supportive, Josh was the reason I stayed after so many times saying I wanted to go home. Diana and Josh were the reason I felt safe the whole time I was there. At first I didn’t care for Diana she came off rude and like she hated being at work. Josh I didn’t meet him till maybe my second week there, he was nice and shook my hand when I first started talking to him. I’ve never had someone do that with a mental health facility. The staff on the unit were hit or miss when It came to some of them. Mostly day shift. Night shift was okay as well. The nurse Kelly and Courtney were nice and always answered my questions when I had them. Yeah I had to leave, because I had a family Emergency, and possibly ruined my opportunity to come back. but it is what it is. But back to my review about the residential. They were SUPER welcoming when I got there my first week, they helped me get on the schedules (shower & laundry) the groups were SUPER helpful, and the staff were always giving good feedback when it to HWK review or questions in group. I didn’t really care for the weekend schedules. TO SLOW FOR ME. But they were helpful. My therapist Kelly I didn’t like her at first didn’t want anything to do with her. She came off rude and I just didn’t care for her. After my first couple sessions I finally mentioned something to her about our first couple sessions being rough, and she talked to me about her past with being a coach, and why she came off rude to me. But she was always super helpful with my issues I had during my stay here. I haven’t met a better female therapist than her. She was awesome. The kitchen staff were good about making things work when it came to my allergies. They always made good food. Especially the French toast on Friday morning. That was my top favorite meal. The manger (im assuming that’s who she is) was good about introducing me to snacks I could eat because of my allergies. She was always super nice. I can’t think of the other girls name. But she was always VERY nice even tho at first I was rude to her, I eventually was able to talk to her and get to know her a little bit didn’t really talk to her a lot. Ashley the residential manger, that girl is the BESTT she helped me so much when I was here, she helped me with EVERYTHING. She was good about getting me to stay and not leave residential; and I was having some issues with sleeping with my door shut and she was the first to make me feel heard and validated. She made me feel welcomed my first week, she explained to me everything like the phases and stuff and how to move up, in them. Once I got more comfortable she always made me smile on my hard days. She deserves the position she has she definitely worked for it. I wish I could have said bye to her before I left:(( Shawna she was the best she was always so positive and made me laugh and was always so easy to joke around with. She was always smiling I swear every time I seen her, and she gave me a hug before I left my last day. The doctor I didn’t care for. She WAS HORRIBLE and will always be my least favorite.