Dirk Elting, Ph.D., ABPP

Dr. Dirk Elting has been a clinical psychologist for over 30 years.  Licensed in Hawaii, he works exclusively with people suffering from borderline spectrum disorders.  These include not only borderline personality disorder (BPD), but other disorders that frequently co-occur with BPD such as eating disorders, substance use disorders, depression, and anxiety — particularly PTSD and complex-PTSD related to childhood abuse.

He has numerous relevant certifications, including:

  • Board certification in Cognitive-Behavioral Psychology by the American Board of Professional Psychology;

  • Advanced Certified Schema Therapist by the International Society of Schema Therapy (another established treatment for BPD);

  • American Psychological Association’s Certificate of Proficiency in the Treatment of Psychoactive Substance Use Disorders.

He is widely credited with introducing Dialectical Behavioral Therapy to Hawaii through statewide training he organized when he was Director of Psychosocial Rehabilitation and Chief of Psychology at Hawaii State Hospital. In his role at the hospital Dr. Elting oversaw the development of several key psychosocial treatment programs at Hawaii State Hospital, including the DBT, substance abuse, and family psychoeducation programs. In 2003, these efforts were recognized by the Hawaii Psychological Association, which gave him its Distinguished Service Award. Shortly after this he left the hospital and founded this practice to provide DBT services to the general public on Oahu, and later all of Hawaii via telehealth. In addition, he has published and given numerous professional talks on behavioral treatments for a wide range of problems in both hospital and private settings for several decades.

We are accepting adults (18+) for our wait list. Because, to our knowledge, we offer the only standard model DBT program in Hawaii (including all four elements listed above) the demand for our services is high and the wait for an opening can vary greatly. We encourage interested individuals to add their names to the list, but apologize for our inability to accept new clients as quickly as would be desirable.

Accepted Insurance

  • HMSA
  • UHA
  • UHC
  • HMAA
  • Kaiser Permanente (by referral from Kaiser only)
  • Medicare
  • Quest

Individuals interested in being added to the waiting list should complete the form on this page..