Jamie D. Bedics, PhD, ABPP

About

Dr. Bedics received his BA in psychology from Penn State University, MS in clinical psychology from the University of Utah, and PhD in clinical psychology from Fuller Graduate School of Psychology, Pasadena, CA.  He completed a clinical internship at the Portland VA Medical Center where he worked as a member of the dialectical behavior therapy (DBT) treatment team. After his internship, he completed a two-year post-doctoral fellowship at the DBT Center of Seattle where he received further training in evidence-based treatments including DBT.  Dr. Bedics is a licensed clinical psychologist in California and is board certified in Behavioral and Cognitive Psychology by the American Board of Professional Psychology (ABPP).

Dr. Bedics' expertise lies in DBT and the treatment of suicidal behavior.  He had the unique privilege of working closely with the developer of DBT, Dr. Marsha Linehan, as both a clinician and researcher.  In collaboration with Dr. Linehan, Dr. Bedics published research on the therapeutic relationship during DBT and examined how the interpersonal relationship between the therapist and client can impact outcome.  He is currently the director of the DBT Training Specialization in the doctoral program in clinical psychology at CLU and is the director of DBT Clinical Services at the CLU Community Counseling Center.  He teaches doctoral courses in Behavioral Clinical Methods, DBT Basics, DBT Skills Training, Suicide Assessment and Risk Management, and Mindfulness. He is the Editor of the recently released Handbook of Dialectical Behavior Therapy: Theory, Research, Evaluation published by Academic Press (June 1, 2020).

Dr. Bedics is also the director of the MS in Clinical Psychology Program at CLU.  The MS in Clinical Psychology Program emphasizes the improvement of psychological science through open science initiatives such as increased transparency and reproducibility in the process of conducting science.  Dr. Bedics is passionate about improving the quality of psychological research through open science initiatives and is currently the Center for Open Science Ambassador at CLU. He primarily teaches courses in Exploratory Data Analysis, Data Wrangling and Visualization, and Research Ethics all using the R statistical programming language.    

In addition to his duties at CLU, Dr. Bedics worked as a DBT research therapist on a large, multi-site (UCLA & University of Washington), randomized-controlled trial of DBT for suicidal and self-harming adolescents (Collaborative Adolescent Research on Emotions and Suicide or CARES).  The CARES study was the second, carefully controlled, clinical trial supporting the efficacy of DBT for the treatment of suicidal behavior in adolescents.  Dr. Bedics remains involved in several projects examining the effectiveness of delivering DBT in the community.

Dr. Bedics is a member of the Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies, Association for Psychological Science, American Psychological Association, Western Psychological Association, American Association of Suicidology and the Society for Psychotherapy Research. 

He served as Associate Editor for the journal Psychotherapy (2016-2020) published by the American Psychological Association.

In his spare time, Jamie enjoys studying Japanese, visiting Japan, jogging and exercising, and reading on his porch at his home near Venice Beach.  

Education

BA       The Pennsylvania State University, State College, PA

MS       The University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT

PhD      Fuller Graduate School of Psychology, Pasadena, CA

Academic Appointment, Affiliation, & Employment:

Clinical Instructor & Psychologist II
UCLA David Geffen School of Medicine
Department of Psychiatry & Biobehavioral Sciences, 2012-2023

Visiting Research Scientist, Attending Psychologist, Harbor-UCLA Medical Center, Department of Psychiatry, Dialectical Behavior Therapy Program, 2010-2012

Clinical Fellow, Dialectical Behavior Therapy Center of Seattle, Seattle, WA, 2008-2010

Clinical Psychology Intern, Portland VA Medical Center, Portland, OR, 2007-2008

Licensed Clinical Psychologist, State of California

Associate Chair, American Psychological Association, Division 29, Program Committee 2021-

Associate Editor - Psychotherapy - American Psychological Association, 2016-2020.

Editorial Board - Psychotherapy - American Psychological Association, 2013-2022.

Expertise

Psychotherapy Process and Outcome, Personality Disorders, Dialectical Behavior Therapy, Interpersonal Theory, Statistics and Research Methods, Treatment of Suicidal Behavior

Publications

Recent Publications

Bedics, J. D. (Special Section Editor) (2022). Introduction to the Special Section on Suicide and Crisis Management in Clinical Practice: Theoretical and Practical Integration. Psychotherapy, 59, 140-142

Asarnow JR, Berk MS, Bedics J, Adrian M, Gallop R, Cohen J, Korslund K, Hughes JL, Avina C, Linehan M, McCauley E. Dialectical Behavior Therapy for suicidal self-harming youths: Emotion regulation, mechanisms, and mediator. J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry.2021.Online 2/2021.https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jaac.2021.01.016

Bedics, J. D., & McKinley, H. (2021). Therapist responsivity in dialectical behavior therapy. In J. C. Watson & H. Wiseman (Eds.) Attuning to enhance therapist responsivity. American Psychological Association.

Bedics, J. D. (Ed.) (2020). The Handbook of Dialectical Behavior Therapy: Theory, Research, and Evaluation. Elsevier Press.

Bedics, J. D., & McKinley, H. (2020). The therapeutic alliance and therapeutic relationship in dialectical behavior therapy. In J.D. Bedics (Ed.) The Handbook of Dialectical Behavior Therapy: Theory, Research, and Evaluation. Elsevier Press.

Bedics, J. D. (2020). Recommendations and future directions for the scientific study of DBT: An emphasis on replicability and reproducibility. In J.D. Bedics (Ed.) The Handbook of Dialectical Behavior Therapy: Theory, Research, and Evaluation. Elsevier Press.

Bedics, J. D. (2020). Preface. In J.D. Bedics (Ed.) The Handbook of Dialectical Behavior Therapy: Theory, Research, and Evaluation. Elsevier Press.

Bedics, J. D. (Special Section Editor) (2019). Initiating the therapeutic encounter: Introduction to the special section on early session. Psychotherapy, 56, 5-6. 

Bedics, J. D., Atkins, D. C., Harned, M. S., & Linehan, M. M. (2015). The therapeutic alliance as a predictor of outcome in dialectical behavior therapy versus non-behavioral psychotherapy experts for borderline personality disorder. Psychotherapy, 52, 67-77.

Bedics, J. D., Korslund, K. E., Sayrs, J. H. R., McFarr, L. M. (2013).  The observation of essential clinical strategies during an individual session of dialectical behavior therapy. Psychotherapy, 50, 454-457.

Bedics, J. D. (2013). Similar long term benefits with dialectical behaviour therapy or general psychiatric management for people with borderline personality disorder:  A commentary on McMain et al.’s “Dialectical behavior therapy compared with general psychiatric management for borderline personality disorder: Clinical outcomes and functioning over a 2-year follow-up” [Peer commentary by J. D. Bedics]. Evidence-Based Mental Health, 16, 16.

Bedics, J. D., Atkins, D. C., Comtois, K., & Linehan, M. M. (2012).  Weekly ratings of the therapeutic relationship and introject during the course of dialectical behavior therapy for the treatment of borderline personality disorder. Psychotherapy: Theory, Research, Practice, Training, 49, 231-240.

Bedics, J. D., Atkins, D. C., Comtois, K., & Linehan, M. M. (2012). Treatment Differences in the therapeutic relationship and introject during a 2-year randomized controlled trial of dialectical behavior therapy versus non-behavioral psychotherapy experts for borderline personality disorder. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 80, 66-77.

Recent Professional Presentations

Bedics, J. D. (Chair) (2020, October). The science of training and learning DBT in the clinic: Recommendations for clinical practice. Symposium presented at the annual meeting of the Western Psychological Association, San Francisco, CA.

Dougherty, S.,* & Bedics, J. D. (2020, October). Getting book smart: How to use the core DBT manual (+technology) to enhance clinical training. In J. Bedics (Chair) The science of training and learning DBT in the clinic: Recommendations for clinical practice. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the Western Psychological Association, San Francisco, CA.

Dougherty, S., Asgari, P., Lin, Y., & Bedics, J. D. (2020, October). One treatment many outcomes: The replicability of dialectical behavioral therapy for suicidal behavior. Poster presented at the annual meeting of the Western Psychological Association, San Francisco, CA.

Lin, Y.,* & Bedics, J. D. (2019, August). The interpretation of multiple outcomes and analyses in research examining DBT Skills Training. Poster presented at the annual meeting of the American Psychological Association, Chicago, IL.

Bedics, J. D., Atkins, D. C., Linehan, M. M(2015, September).  The perceived interpersonal context surrounding alliance rupture-repair episodes during dialectical behavior therapy for borderline personality disorder. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the European Chapter of the Society for Psychotherapy Research, Klagenfurt, Austria.

Bedics, J. D. (2014, June).  Conceptualizing the therapeutic alliance and therapeutic relationship in dialectical behavior therapy for the treatment of borderline personality disorder. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the Society for Psychotherapy Research, Copenhagen, Denmark.

Moncharsh, A.,* & Bedics, J. D. (2014, April). Observational strategies for studying and conducting research on the therapeutic relationship during graduate training in dialectical behavior therapy. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the Western Psychological Association, Portland, OR.

Bedics, J. D. (2014, April). Getting the most out of graduate training in dialectical behavior therapy: a clinician-scientist model.  Chaired symposium at the annual meeting of the Western Psychological Association, Portland, OR. 

*denotes California Lutheran graduate student in psychology

Grant Funding

1. Title: Large pragmatic trial to prevent suicide attempts, deaths in moderate-to-high risk youth

Funding Source: PCORI Phased Large Award in Comparative Effectiveness Research (PLACER)

Role: Lead DBT Trainer and Adherence Coder

PI: Greg Clarke 

2. Title: Randomized Controlled Trial of Stepped Care for Suicide Prevention in Teens and Young Adults (Step2Health)

Funding Source: NIMH

Role: Co-Investigator, Lead DBT Clinical Trainer, Supervisor, & DBT Adherence Rater

PIs: Joan Asarnow, Greg Clarke, and Marsha Linehan

3. Title: A moment-to-moment observational analysis of the therapeutic relationship as a predictor of outcome during dialectical behavior therapy for the treatment of borderline personality disorder

Funding Source: American Psychological Association, Division 29 (Society for the Advancement of Psychotherapy), Charles Gelso Award

Role: Principal Investigator

4. Title: The measurement of treatment adherence during graduate training in Dialectical Behavior Therapy

Funding Source: Faculty Research and Creative Work Award (California Lutheran University)

Role: Principal Investigator

5. Title: The development of the therapeutic relationship during graduate training in Dialectical Behavior Therapy

Funding Source: Community Leaders Association (California Lutheran University)

Role: Principal Investigator