Dr. Sammy Banawan founded Durham DBT, Inc. in 2006 after he completed his post-doctoral fellowship at the Duke University Medical Center. He completed his internship there in 2003 and graduated from The University of Georgia Clinical Psychology Program in 2004. The UGA program has been acclaimed for its tradition of training students in empirically-supported treatments (ESTs) and received the Outstanding Training Program award from the Association of Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies in 1998. 

Sammy has been providing dialectical behavior therapy services since receiving training at UGA and Duke and has attended several intensive trainings provided by B-Tech, LLC, the organization founded by Marsha Linehan, Ph.D. to foster effective dissemination of DBT. He has led trainings and consultation teams for other clinicians wishing to implement DBT in their practices and has previously served as a consultant for the Easter Seals of NC to aid them in starting a DBT program. He has also worked in residential settings for eating disorders as the DBT specialist to adapt DBT to that particular population.

During his clinical career, Sammy has worked with a variety of clients, including those with eating disorders, substance use and self-injury. He continues to enjoy clinical work and supervision of both therapists and psychiatrists. When he's not seeing clients, he's either working on his iOS app or he is playing with his 2 kids. You can contact him at (919) 627-8675, by email at banawan@durhamdbt.com or through our contact page.