
Wise Mind DBT & CBT Center
Walking Alongside You
On Your Journey Toward Building
A Life Worth Living.
Exceptional Care. Genuine Compassion. Lasting Transformation.
"I feel like my highly sensitive emotions are in control of me, and I can't keep
living like this. It hurts too much...It hurts all the time."
"Can anyone really understand what I'm going through, deeply 'see me,'
and actually help me?"
"I tried therapy before; and it just didn't seem to help as much
as I really needed it to..."
DBT care at our Center is “Different By Design,” because only our care is truly tailored for you and you multi-faceted, complex and sensitive needs.
Welcome to our Specialty Dialectical Behavior
Therapy (DBT) Outpatient Mental Health Center
We specialize in providing highly effective, genuinely compassionate, and non-judgmental care for persons with sensitive emotions and complex
(multi-diagnostic) mental health care needs.
Licensed Mental Health Professionals:
Wisconsin Licensure Numbers:
LCSW: 7682-123
LPC: 11725-125
LPC: 10570-125
DIFFERENT BY DESIGN:
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Deep Psychotherapy + Individualized DBT Skills — Together.
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At Wise Mind, individual psychotherapy is at the heart of our care; and care is truly built around you.
​We integrate deeper therapeutic work with individualized DBT skills training directly within your one-to-one sessions — allowing us to work with both what lies underneath your struggles and what can help you respond differently now.
There is no requirement to attend a separate weekly DBT skills group to participate in our individual DBT services.
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Instead, we bring DBT into the complexity of your real life — and what you need right now.
You may have processed the past....Gained insight...
Learned coping skills...
And still found yourself stuck in patterns you deeply
want to change.
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We help you understand why something keeps happening — while developing new ways of responding when it
happens again.
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We practice. Personalize. Troubleshoot. Adjust.
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Until the Skills begin to become yours.
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Insight becomes action.
Actively "Walking the DBT Path of Skillful Living" becomes your lived experience.
And gradually, the work you're doing in therapy begins showing up where it matters most: In your life.
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DBT ISN'T SIMPLY MEANT TO BE LEARNED.
IT'S MEANT TO BE LIVED.
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Knowing a skill exists is different from being able to use it when emotions are intense, relationships hurt, thoughts are spiraling, or life suddenly feels like too much.
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That's why we don't want DBT to remain something you understand intellectually.
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We help you learn how to live it.
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Maybe you recover from an emotional storm a little faster.
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Recognize an old pattern before it takes over.
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Respond differently in a relationship.
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Set a boundary you once thought you couldn't.
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Feel something intensely — without automatically acting on every urge that comes with it.
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Step by step, change begins to feel less out of reach — and more like something you are actively building.
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Because DBT wasn't meant to stay on a worksheet.
It's meant to become part of how you live your life.
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DEEPLY HUMAN. CLINICALLY PURPOSEFUL. FULLY ENGAGED.
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You deserve a therapist who genuinely sees
and understands you.
And, one who knows how to help you move forward.
We believe you deserve both.
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Our therapists bring specialized DBT expertise and clinical intention to your treatment without leaving our humanity outside the therapy room.
We listen deeply.
Notice patterns.
Validate what the valid.
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Ask difficult questions.
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Challenge when challenge is needed.
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Practice new responses with you.
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And when something isn't working? We get curious with you.
And we adjust.
Because while your recovery will always belong to you —
YOU WILL NEVER BE THE ONLY PERSON WORKING HARD IN THE ROOM.
We can't create your recovery for you.
And we would never presume to define what your life should become.
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But you shouldn't have to figure out how to get there alone.
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You bring your experiences, your goals, your willingness and your courage.
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We bring our expertise, humanity, curiosity and fully committed therapeutic energy.
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We work "WITH" you — never "AT" you.
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ACCEPTANCE AND CHANGE.
At the heart of DBT is a powerful idea:
You can deeply accept yourself AND courageously work toward change.
You don't have to hate yourself into becoming different.
And accepting yourself doesn't mean giving up on the life you want.
Both can be true.
We help you learn to listen to your emotions without becoming drowned by them. To understand and validate what you're experiencing without becoming trapped inside it.
And increasingly, to create enough space between what you feel and what you do next that you can choose how you want to respond.
That space can change so much.
It can become the space where an old pattern begins to loosen.
Where a different choice becomes possible.
Where you hear your own Wise Mind more clearly.
Where you begin trusting yourself again.
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THE GOAL ISN'T TO BECOME REALLY GOOD AT THERAPY.
The goal is for what happens in therapy to change what becomes possible in your life.
Not toward some version of the life we think you should want.
Toward the one all of this work is ultimately about:
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A LIFE WORTH LIVING — AS YOU DEFINE IT.
And if you've tried before and aren't quite ready to believe that kind of change is possible?
You don't need to arrive here overflowing with hope.
Until you begin to feel some of your own, you can borrow some of ours.
Individual Psychotherapy is our primary method of care, and we integrate "DBT Skills Training" into your 1:1 sessions. There is no requirement to attend a weekly Group Format DBT Skills Training session.
Only our DBT center combines in-depth therapeutic processing work with DBT Skills Training all in your once a week Individual Therapy sessions, so the DBT Skills Training is more targeting to your individual needs in the here and now.
We have found that this combined model of Individual Treatment (Processing work + DBT Skills training work) in an individual therapy format is more responsive to your unique needs in the current moment.
And, more effective.
We offer deeper level therapy than a traditionally trained therapist (e.g. a "general mental health" therapist)
"What is DBT? Will it help me?"
Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) is a highly effective treatment for people who struggle to manage their emotions, who experience high levels of emotional distress, and may need help navigating their relationships, and reducing impulsive behaviors.
DBT helps individuals who are often struggling with multiple complex mental health problems all at once. DBT is a type of in-depth psychotherapy that helps people learn how to manage their emotions effectively and improves how you experience your day-to-day life.
We Offer Specialized Care:
Mental health concerns and emotional wellbeing issues that we specialize in treating include:
Emotional Sensitivity/Emotional Regulation Problems:
We help persons with strong, sensitive emotions that they struggle to manage effectively. They may struggle to identify their emotions, and be in need of skills to act effectively toward their goals even when feelings/emotions are hightened. We teach people how to down-regulate intense emotions when that is needed to reduce their suffering, and improve their life functioning.
Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) or Borderline Personality Disorder Traits.
Major Depression including "Treatment Resistant Depression."
Anxiety Disorders, including:
Generalized Anxiety Disorder, Social Anxiety Disorder, and Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD).
Self-Harming Behaviors and Self-Defeating Impulsive Behaviors:
Self-defeating behaviors are often a response for some persons when they are specially feeling very emotionally overwhelmed, or are feeling empty and "numb."
Overcoming Suicidal Thoughts and Choosing To Live Life Again:
We also work with individuals seeking to recover from patterns of recurrent thoughts of suicide, who are not immediately intending to take actions to end their life, and yet struggle with daily life being so painful that thoughts of suicide have taken hold of them, especially during times of emotional distress and overwhelm.
Complex Post Traumatic Disorder (C-PTSD) and individuals seeking to recover from Trauma.
Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD).
Thriving with Giftedness:
We assist persons who are Gifted/Exceptional in a number of ways (i.e. highly intelligent, above average emotional intelligence, highly perceptive, and/or have a high degree of: creativity, passion, an drive to excellence. Often times the gifts also come with a high risk of perfectionism, burn-out and high expectations of themselves and others. This can lead to overwhelm, loneliness, and disillusionment.
We guide you to help you harness your gifts and re-ignite your passions in a way that serves you the best in your day-to-day life and relationships.
Overcoming Perfectionism and Avoidance Problems.
Relationship and/or Family Problems:
We often provide family or support person sessions to help resolve cycles of conflict and help rebuild connections with the persons who matter to you the most in your life.
DBT Skills Based Couples Therapy:
Renew your level of connection with your partner, learn healthy vulnerability and accountability skills, learn how to truly "see" one another again, and feel deeply heard and understood by your partner.
Disordered Eating Patterns and Body Image Problems.
Our Beliefs & What Therapy Feels Like With Us:
Our team believes in the inner strength and resilience of each therapy participant that comes to work with us in their journey toward achieving increased emotional regulation, peace of mind, and building meaning in their lives.
We work collaboratively with participants, meaning we work "WITH YOU" not "AT YOU."
We balance a key DBT Concept in our work, which is balancing the dialectic (seeming opposite concepts) of both ACCEPTANCE and CHANGE. This means we already accept and know that you are doing the very best you can, and we validate and honor the efforts you make every day in doing your best--AND we also know you are capable of growth and change at the same time.
We balance process-based, person centered, validating therapeutic approach with a change-based approach (which is to train you to use the DBT Skills in your daily life to enhance your ability to cope with emotions and the challenges of life).
We aim to "Walk Alongside" you as you begin a journey toward discovering compassion for yourself, as you develop meaningful life goals and re-connect with things you enjoy about life again, and improve your relationships with others.
What Sets Us Apart?
Our team of compassionate, non-judgmental therapists are highly trained in Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT).
Our Director, Lisa Herpolsheimer, completed her DBT training through the prestigious Marsha Linehan PhD Training Institute called Behavioral Tech, the "Gold Standard" of real, official DBT intensive professional training. Marsha Linehan, PhD. is the developer of Dialectical Behavior Therapy. Lisa provides the team with ongoing clinical supervision, advanced clinical training seminars, and provides direction on the care of all participants at our center.
We also utilize the Official DBT Treatment Manuals and DBT Skills Training Materials from Dr. Linehan in our DBT Individual Therapy, Family Therapy and DBT Skills Training Groups.
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Advanced-Trained and DBT-Certified Therapists:
Our therapists engage in ongoing continuing professional education and training in complex clinical care and best practices. This includes intensive training courses in DBT, DBT Case Consultation activities, specialized training for the treatment of complex clinical trauma, and ongoing training and professional development for most effectively working with multi-diagnostic (multi-problem) and complex clinical presentations.
Our DBT program is adept and ready to work with individuals with emotional sensitivity and emotion regulation problems, mood disorders (depression, anxiety, OCD, generalized anxiety, social anxiety), ADHD, Personality Disorders, and we also often work with persons motivated to recover from self-defeating behaviors such as non-suicidal self-injury or difficulties overcoming suicidal thoughts.
We specialize in working with individuals with sensitive emotions that they find difficult to regulate effectively.
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Experience:
Our clinical team possesses over 37 years of clinical psychotherapy experience combined in the provision of direct mental health psychotherapy and counseling. Our clinical staff work with therapy participants who are Teens (14+) and Adults.




We are passionate about bringing therapy upwards--beyond just providing "support"--upward towards deeper-level recovery experiences...reaching for meaningful transformation in your life.


Experience the Difference of Working With Us:
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