About.

Jared Michonski, PhD

Licensed Psychologist
LBC-DBT Certified Clinician

I am a clinical psychologist, licensed in the state of Washington, but also permitted to practice virtually in many states through PSYPACT (see participating states here). 

I work with adults, adolescents, and families to address:

  • suicidality and self-injury

  • borderline personality disorder

  • emotion dysreguation

  • interpersonal difficulties

  • anxiety disorders

  • depression

  • posttraumatic stress disorder

  • parenting challenges

  • religious faith and mental health challenges

I am committed to delivering interventions that have demonstrated efficacy, while also recognizing that effective treatment requires a strong relationship—one characterized by understanding, compassion, and collaboration. I draw primarily from Dialectical Behavior Therapy and other cognitive-behavioral treatments, including exposure, mindfulness, and acceptance based strategies. In employing such approaches, I strive to work as a team with the client to individualize interventions in such a way that honors the person’s unique life story, social experiences, cultural background, and personality. I strive to understand how a person’s particular strengths and community resources can be harnessed in navigating their way through emotional and behavioral challenges and experiences of suffering and disadvantage, en route to their life goals. Furthermore, I incorporate theologically-informed interventions with those clients for whom such an approach is desired.

I am a board certified DBT therapist by the DBT-Linehan Board of Certification, an organization founded by the developer of DBT, Dr. Marsha Linehan.

I completed my masters and doctoral studies in clinical psychology at the University of Houston. As a graduate student, my primary area of research was the emergence of personality disorders in children and adolescents (see selected publications below). Thus, after completing his predoctoral internship at the University of Rochester Medical Center in Rochester, NY, I moved to Seattle in order to pursue specialized training in the leading treatment for borderline personality disorder—Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT). I completed my postdoctoral fellowship at the DBT Center at the Evidence Based Treatment Centers of Seattle (EBTCS), where, in addition to DBT, I received specialized training in behavioral parent training, with an emphasis upon addressing the challenges parents face when raising emotionally dysregulated teens.

Furthermore, I served as a therapist in a research trial at the University of Washington in a study that examined the effectiveness of DBT in treating suicidal and emotionally dysregulated teens, during which I trained with Dr. Marsha Linehan, the developer of DBT. Following my postdoctoral training, I remained at EBTCS for another four years as a staff psychologist, during which time I continued to develop my skill in DBT and behavioral parent training, as well as in exposure and mindfulness based interventions for anxiety and posttraumatic stress. In September 2017, I opened my own independent practice. Presently, I collaborate and consult with other independent practioners through Balance Psychotherapy Collaborative.  

In addition to providing psychotherapy, I am a member of the Clinical Faculty in the Department of Psychology at the University of Washington, where I provide supervision in DBT to doctoral students. I also offer supervision to unlicensed and provisionally clinicians in DBT and other behaviorally-oriented treatments in support of their pursuit of licensure. I am member of the American Psychological Association. Furthermore, I continue to be involved in writing and research, primarily in the area of borderline personality disorder and DBT (see below).

Bio

Michonski, J.D. & LoTempio, E.R (in press). Clarifying the Core Problem Concept in DBT: A Case Illustration. Cognitive and Behavioral Practice.

Miga, E.M., LoTempio, E.R., Michonski, J.D., & Hunter, D.A. (2020). Accreditation, adherence, and training in Dialectical Behavior Therapy: Data review and practical applications. In Jamie Bedics (Ed.), The Handbook of Dialectical Behavior Therapy: Theory, Research, and Evaluation, Academic Press: San Diego, CA.

Sharp, C., Steinberg, L., Michonski, J., Kalpakci, A., Fowler, C., Frueh, B. C., & Fonagy, P. (2019). DSM borderline criterion function across age-groups: A cross-sectional mixed-method study. Assessment, 26(6), 1014–1029. 

Babcock, J., & Michonski, J. (2019). Sensitivity to facial affect in partner-violent men: The role of psychopathic and borderline traits. Journal of Aggression, Conflict and Peace Research, 11(3), 213–224.

Sharp, C., & Michonski, J. (2018). Personality disorders. In Thomas Ollendick, Susan White, &  Bradley White (Eds.), Oxford Handbook of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology, Oxford  University Press: New York.

Osborne, T.L., Michonski, J., Sayrs, J., Welch, S.S., Anderson, L.K. (2017). Factor structure of the Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale (DERS) in adult outpatients receiving dialectical behavior therapy (DBT). Journal of Psychopathology and Behavioral Assessment, 39, 255-371.

Moore, S. A., Welch, S. S., Michonski, J., Poquiz, J., Osborne, T. L., Sayrs, J., & Spanos, A. (2015). Psychometric evaluation of the Overall Anxiety Severity And Impairment Scale (OASIS) in individuals seeking outpatient specialty treatment for anxiety-related disorders. Journal Of Affective Disorders, 175, 463-470.

Michonski, J. D. (2014). The underlying factor structure of youth BPD. In Carla Sharp & Jennifer L. Tackett (Eds.), Handbook of Borderline Personality Disorder in Children and Adolescents, Springer: New York.

Sharp, C., Michonski, J. D., Steinberg, L., & Fowler, C, Frueh, C., Oldham, J.M. (2014). An investigation of differential item functioning across gender of BPD criteria. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 123, 231-236.

Michonski, J.D., Sharp, C., Steinberg, L., & Zanarini, M.C. (2013). An item response theory analysis of the Borderline Personality Disorder criteria in a population-based sample of 11 to 12-year-old children. Personality Disorders: Theory, Research, and Treatment, 4, 15-22.

Sharp, C., Ha, C., Michonski, J., Venta, A., & Carbone, C. (2012). Borderline Personality Disorder in adolescents: Evidence in support of the CI-BPD in a sample of adolescent inpatients. Comprehensive Psychiatry, 53, 765-774.

Seals, R.W., Sharp, C., Michonski, J.D., & Ha, C. (2012). The relationship between the Youth Psychopathic traits Inventory and psychopathology in a US community sample of male youth. Journal of Personality Assessment, 94, 232-243.

Michonski, J.D., & Sharp, C. (2010). Revisiting Lynam’s notion of the “fledgling psychopath”: Are HIA-CP children truly psychopathic-like? Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Mental Health, 3, 4-24.

Sharp, C., Williams, L.L., Ha, C., Baumgardner, J., Michonski, J., Seals, R., Patel, A.B., Bleiberg, E., & Fonagy, P. (2009). The development of a mentalization-based outcomes and research protocol for an adolescent in-patient unit. Bulletin of the Menninger Clinic, 73(4), 311-338.

Selected publications.