What is STAAR DBT? Seattle Training in Adult, Adolescent & Relationship DBT: a collaboration between Dr. Miga(The Seattle Clinic, Balance Psychotherapy) & Dr. Michonski(Balance Psychotherapy Collaborative) that provides high touch training of students on the applications of DBT for teens/adults and families, couples and parents. Dr. Miga & Dr. Michonski have enjoyed collaborating in DBT training together for the past 8 years. We offer behaviorally precise and high-quality supervision, delivered with compassion, flexibility, humor and kindness. We offer a supportive environment to our trainees, during which we recognize our fellow’s strengths, shape necessary skills, and help fellows cultivate community and connectedness with their clients, and within the training program.
Please contact us via webform if you are interested in working with one of our excellent trainees OR if you are interested in receiving DBT training. We are currently screening for teen and adult DBT cases.
You can contact our current and former fellows directly at their emails below.
Adora Du, MA, LMHCA
Postmasters Fellow 2025-26
[email protected]
https://springdaytherapy.com/
Adora Du, LMHCA received her masters in Clinical Mental Health Counseling at Antioch University. She has treated children, adolescents, and adults across a variety of clinical settings (residential, IOP, PHP and outpatient), as well as serving as research coordinator on a UW research study focused on redesigning DBT for autistic individuals (under Dr. Alana McVey). Adora is an incoming STAAR Fellow working under the supervision of Drs. Jared Michonski and Erin Miga.
Adora currently has immediate openings for children (ages 10+), adolescents, and adults seeking DBT or CBT treatment. She also has special training and interest in working with Asian communities, and providing neuro-affirming care for autistic individuals. As a therapist, Adora seeks to support each client through a balance of evidence-based interventions and a strengths-based, culturally responsive, and trauma-informed lens. Prior to graduate school, Adora provided case management and behavioral-emotional support for adults in a community mental health setting. In this role she developed foundational therapeutic skills and a passion for serving others in the mental health field. During her graduate program, she received transdiagnostic clinical experience and training in a variety of mental health settings and age groups. She completed the first six months of her internship at Seattle Play Therapy, where she delivered Child Centered Play Therapy with children ages 3-10 and provided coaching and support for parents and caregivers. Adora completed her final six months of her internship at Imagine Seattle, where she delivered Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) informed treatment in individual, group, and family sessions to adolescents ages 11-18 in the intensive outpatient and partial hospitalization programs. Adora has also been involved in mental health research throughout her training. She worked as a research manager at the University of Washington in school-based autism research, where she worked closely with public schools, educators, and autistic self-advocates to improve K-12 school-based supports for autistic students. Adora also coordinated and continues to support a research study on redesigning DBT for autistic young adults. |
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Mahnoor is a fourth-year clinical psychology PhD student at the University of Washington with experience delivering evidence-based interventions across outpatient, inpatient, and community settings. She has provided individual, group, and family-based treatment using approaches such as Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT), Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP), and trauma-informed care. Mahnoor’s clinical experience spans diverse populations, including adults managing complex trauma, anxiety, and mood disorders, individuals with serious mental illness in inpatient settings, children with autism and behavioral challenges as well as youth experiencing OCD. Mahnoor is passionate about tailoring interventions to client needs, integrating cultural humility into therapy, and fostering collaborative, values-driven care. In addition to her clinical work, she conducts research on the genetic, neural, and behavioral mechanisms underlying serious mental illness, such as schizophrenia and bipolar disorder, to inform early identification and preventive interventions.
Laina Keim, PhD
Postdoctoral Fellow 2023-24
[email protected]
Madelaine (Laina) Keim earned her PhD in Clinical Psychology from the University of Washington in June 2023. Laina joined The Seattle Clinic(TSC) under the supervision Dr. Erin Miga in September 2023, and is currently an active TSC board member.
Laina works with individuals across the lifespan seeking support for difficulties with mood, anxiety, OCD, emotion regulation, trauma, interpersonal relationships, and parenting. She is committed to delivering treatments that honor each individual’s unique set of strengths and challenges as well as the latest in clinical research establishing empirically validated therapeutic strategies. Her approach flexibly draws from range of cognitive behavioral and third wave treatments including Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT), Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), Behavioral Activation (BA), behavioral parent training, and exposure-based therapies (e.g., Exposure and Response Prevention for OCD, Prolonged Exposure for PTSD).
Before making her way to the West Coast, she completed her undergraduate studies in Sociology and Psychology at The Ohio State University and worked as a research coordinator at Nationwide Children’s Hospital Center for Biobehavioral Health. During her six years of doctoral training in Seattle, she worked as a therapist for both children and adults at Seattle Children’s Hospital, The Evidence Based Treatment Center of Seattle, The Seattle Clinic, Child and Teen Solutions, and The King County Sexual Assault Resource Center. Currently, Laina is in the process of completing her clinical internship in General Child and Adolescent Psychology at the UCLA Semel Institute. She remains committed to advancing scientific research and has published more than 20 peer-reviewed articles on topics such as parent socialization of children’s emotions, parent-child interactions, family adjustment to pediatric illness, and post-traumatic growth. Additionally, Laina has taken special interests in the teaching and mentorship of junior clinicians, providing training and supervision to other masters- and doctoral-level students at the University of Washington while concurrently completing her own studies.
Laina treats individuals across the lifespan seeking support for challenges with mood, anxiety, OCD, emotion regulation, interpersonal relationships, and parenting. Her approach draws from a range of evidence-based cognitive behavioral and third wave treatments including Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT), Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), Behavioral Activation (BA), behavioral parent training, and exposure-based therapies (e.g., Exposure and Response Prevention for OCD, Prolonged Exposure for PTSD).
As a therapist, Laina blends a warm and compassionate interpersonal style with a commitment to challenging clients to confront unhelpful beliefs and change longstanding patterns of maladaptive behavior. She strives to lead with authenticity, bringing humor, playfulness, and her common humanity to each session. She works collaboratively with clients and families to craft individualized treatment plans tailored to each client’s unique goals and strengths. By improving the emotional literacy of the entire family and providing effective psychoeducation that makes principles of treatment transparent, she hopes to effect great and abiding change in the lives of her clients that persists beyond their time-limited sessions.
Laina works with individuals across the lifespan seeking support for difficulties with mood, anxiety, OCD, emotion regulation, trauma, interpersonal relationships, and parenting. She is committed to delivering treatments that honor each individual’s unique set of strengths and challenges as well as the latest in clinical research establishing empirically validated therapeutic strategies. Her approach flexibly draws from range of cognitive behavioral and third wave treatments including Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT), Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), Behavioral Activation (BA), behavioral parent training, and exposure-based therapies (e.g., Exposure and Response Prevention for OCD, Prolonged Exposure for PTSD).
Before making her way to the West Coast, she completed her undergraduate studies in Sociology and Psychology at The Ohio State University and worked as a research coordinator at Nationwide Children’s Hospital Center for Biobehavioral Health. During her six years of doctoral training in Seattle, she worked as a therapist for both children and adults at Seattle Children’s Hospital, The Evidence Based Treatment Center of Seattle, The Seattle Clinic, Child and Teen Solutions, and The King County Sexual Assault Resource Center. Currently, Laina is in the process of completing her clinical internship in General Child and Adolescent Psychology at the UCLA Semel Institute. She remains committed to advancing scientific research and has published more than 20 peer-reviewed articles on topics such as parent socialization of children’s emotions, parent-child interactions, family adjustment to pediatric illness, and post-traumatic growth. Additionally, Laina has taken special interests in the teaching and mentorship of junior clinicians, providing training and supervision to other masters- and doctoral-level students at the University of Washington while concurrently completing her own studies.
Laina treats individuals across the lifespan seeking support for challenges with mood, anxiety, OCD, emotion regulation, interpersonal relationships, and parenting. Her approach draws from a range of evidence-based cognitive behavioral and third wave treatments including Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT), Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), Behavioral Activation (BA), behavioral parent training, and exposure-based therapies (e.g., Exposure and Response Prevention for OCD, Prolonged Exposure for PTSD).
As a therapist, Laina blends a warm and compassionate interpersonal style with a commitment to challenging clients to confront unhelpful beliefs and change longstanding patterns of maladaptive behavior. She strives to lead with authenticity, bringing humor, playfulness, and her common humanity to each session. She works collaboratively with clients and families to craft individualized treatment plans tailored to each client’s unique goals and strengths. By improving the emotional literacy of the entire family and providing effective psychoeducation that makes principles of treatment transparent, she hopes to effect great and abiding change in the lives of her clients that persists beyond their time-limited sessions.
China Bolden-Jarvis, PhD
Postdoctoral Fellow 2023-25
[email protected]
Dr. China Bolden-Jarvis received her doctorate in clinical psychology from Seattle Pacific University. She completed her clinical internship at the University of Washington School of Medicine where her clinical work focused on adolescent and young adult mental health. China was under the supervision of Dr. Erin Miga September 2023-June 2025.
China is currently accepting new client inquiries for adolescents seeking DBT and/or treatment for trauma, & DBT-informed parenting cases.
Prior to graduate school, China worked as a research coordinator at UW where her interest and passion for understanding and treating childhood trauma and maltreatment became the focus of her work. In this role she collaborated on MRI studies investigating the impact of early childhood trauma on brain development.
During graduate school, she continued narrowing her focus on the treatment of trauma and suicidality and recognized the complexity and comorbidity of trauma exposure, suicidality and many other mental health struggles. In order to effectively serve clients with complex mental health challenges she pursued training in multiple evidence-based treatment modalities including exposure and response prevention for anxiety and OCD, behavioral activation for depression, trauma-focused cognitive behavioral therapy, prolonged exposure for PTSD, and dialectical behavioral therapy. Recognizing the impact of generational trauma and the importance of healthy and supportive families, Dr. Jarvis also has received extensive behavioral parent management training rooted in the principles of positive parenting.
She is able to provide general parent training, dialectical behavioral parent skills training, as well as the Incredible Years intervention. Dr. Jarvis strives to meet each of her clients where they are at and to provide effective treatment to better lives in an authentic and collaborative way.
China is currently accepting new client inquiries for adolescents seeking DBT and/or treatment for trauma, & DBT-informed parenting cases.
Prior to graduate school, China worked as a research coordinator at UW where her interest and passion for understanding and treating childhood trauma and maltreatment became the focus of her work. In this role she collaborated on MRI studies investigating the impact of early childhood trauma on brain development.
During graduate school, she continued narrowing her focus on the treatment of trauma and suicidality and recognized the complexity and comorbidity of trauma exposure, suicidality and many other mental health struggles. In order to effectively serve clients with complex mental health challenges she pursued training in multiple evidence-based treatment modalities including exposure and response prevention for anxiety and OCD, behavioral activation for depression, trauma-focused cognitive behavioral therapy, prolonged exposure for PTSD, and dialectical behavioral therapy. Recognizing the impact of generational trauma and the importance of healthy and supportive families, Dr. Jarvis also has received extensive behavioral parent management training rooted in the principles of positive parenting.
She is able to provide general parent training, dialectical behavioral parent skills training, as well as the Incredible Years intervention. Dr. Jarvis strives to meet each of her clients where they are at and to provide effective treatment to better lives in an authentic and collaborative way.