April Sobieralski, Psy.D

Thanks for visiting my Bio page! I am happy you're here and I'm excited to share a little bit more about myself so you can see if you want to connect! My journey to becoming a DBT therapist started my third year of graduate school at Xavier University. I was fortunate enough to have a DBT practicum placement with Dr. Nick Salsman, a Behavioral Tech Institute trainer and total DBT pro. I clicked very quickly with dialectical philosophy, the assumptions about clients and therapy, and could see the fast impact behaviorism had on change for my clients. I continued integrating DBT into my approaches, including starting a DBT group for adolescents while I was in my internship placement. It was a no-brainer that my post-graduate life was going to be DBT-filled! 

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I completed a two-year post-doc at a DBT placement leading partial hospitalization (PHP) and intensive outpatient (IOP) programs as well as providing outpatient services. A couple years later, I wanted to bring more of my integrity, values, and adherence to the outpatient world and founded LakeWest DBT Center. 

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Evidence-based care, client-first values, and a healthy team environment continue to be key drivers in the LakeWest DBT Center mission. Being so passionate about the delivery of gold-standard DBT, I went on to achieve my Dialectical Behavior Therapy- Linehan Board of Certification (DBT-LBC) certified clinician status. It was a rigorous process including passing an exam on DBT principles and protocols, passing a detailed case conceptualization through a DBT framework, and having three DBT sessions coded for adherence. I'm so grateful for the certification because it really does demonstrate how specialized a clinician needs to be as well as how intense and specific the training is to be a DBT provider! It helps clients know that the clinician providing the treatment was held to the standards of the board that was developed by the creator of the therapy- Dr. Marsha Linehan. 

 

I have been incredibly fortunate to be able to grow the LWDBT team over the past few years. The beyond intelligent, caring, funny, and committed women that work at LakeWest DBT are some of the best folx I've ever met and I'm so lucky they picked to work HERE! My top value as a private practice owner is to create a healthy, collaborative, and fun environment where clinicians can grow personally and professionally. In DBT we have an assumption that we are all equals on team. While I'm technically the "boss" as far as the logistics go, everyone is of equal worth, credibility, and importance here. I welcome and love the ideas and ambitions of all the therapists on our team! Arianna, Hanna, Amanda, and Jess give their best every day to their clients and show up authentically in the world. I couldn't be prouder to work with them! It is important to me to support, educate, and nurture other therapists and providers the way that my mentors have supported me! Whether it's a practicum student, post-doctoral fellow, or newly licensed clinician learning DBT for the first time in didactics and supervision, or a DBT therapist in practice for a while who wants some additional consultation, I am thrilled to be able to offer those services! 

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​As LakeWest DBT grows and ages (8 years old!!), we are so fortunate to be able to support so many folx in their journey toward a life worth living. One way we do that is by having myself and two other psychologists be PSYPACT providers! This means I can see clients virtually in 43 states. I love being able to keep treatment consistent for clients that move or go to college in a different state, or provide ancillary services, like family therapy, when family might be spread around the country. I also run groups virtually in PSYPACT states, allowing folx from all over to be connected and learn DBT together. We are also grateful that the Counseling Compact is in full-force so Hanna is also able to reach more people who need our services and keep continuity of care for her clients who move about as well.

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Of all the things I get to do, working with clients is my passion. I've been a licensed psychologist since 2014 and I am so fortunate to have worked with so many amazing, strong, and resilient folx! One of the greatest gifts DBT has given me is the opportunity to meet and connect with people who have incredible talent, heart, and tenacity, even in the midst of struggle. People who choose to work with me often have signs and symptoms of Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD), depression, Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD), anxiety, and Bipolar Disorder, among others. The diagnosis matters a little bit, but more often the way people are feeling are what motivates them to call me. Feeling out of control, overwhelmed, in a cycle of ineffective behaviors, shutting down or avoiding, getting into fights or into trouble, emotions fluctuating rapidly, or being in an emotional crises are all painful experiences that I specialize in helping. I also support parents/caregivers of teens or adults in learning strategies and skills for being more effective with their loved one. 

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My style in therapy is...well...genuine. In DBT, we get to be real people in a real relationship. I'm naturally validating and warm, which is good, because I also like to be sarcastic, funny, and irreverent. I've got my principles and protocols woven in there, and I'm pretty stealth about those so therapy usually feels like a conversation. Clients are the experts in themselves, and I'm the expert in DBT, so that makes us equals in the therapy room. This dynamic allows for the clients and I to collaborate, brainstorm together, and both be fallible. I really aim to balance validation with accountability, acceptance with change, and heaviness with levity (Oh hey there, dialectics, again!). I hope my clients can tell that I am committed, willing, and love working with them to meet their goals and celebrate their successes. 

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I am always open to consultation calls to see if I might be a good fit. If you think you might want to chat more about working together, I absolutely want to hear from you! Leave me a voicemail (216-767-5898 x1) and I'll get back to you asap or you can shoot me an email to schedule a time for a call! 

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