Marsha M. Linehan

Marsha M. Linehan (born May 5, 1943) is an American psychologist and writer. She made a new kind of psychotherapy called dialectical behavior therapy (DBT). Linehan is a Professor of Psychology, Adjunct Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at the University of Washington in Seattle.

Early life

Linehan was born in Tulsa, Oklahoma. She was diagnosed with schizophrenia in March 1961 at The Institute of Living in Hartford, Connecticut. She was an inpatient there for 2 years and 2 months. She was given thorazine and lithium as treatment. She believes that she was misdiagnosed and that she actually had borderline personality disorder.

In 1971 Linehan was given her Ph.D. in clinical psychology from Loyola University Chicago.

Career

After she left university, Linehan did an internship at The Suicide Prevention and Crisis Service in Buffalo, New York from 1971 to 1972. During that time Linehan was also an assistant professor at University at Buffalo, The State University of New York.

In 1973 Linehan went back to Loyola University to work as a professor for two years. In 1977 Linehan became an assistant professor in the Psychiatry and Behavior Sciences department of the University of Washington.