Marsha Linehan died on November 10, 2026. She was 83.
If you don't know her name, she's the psychologist who created Dialectical Behavior Therapy, or DBT. For me, she was a lot more than a name in a textbook. She's been my hero for my entire career.
I first learned DBT in 2008 as a social work intern at Fulton State Hospital. It was the first evidence-based treatment I ever learned. I often tell people I was born and raised as a DBT therapist. I've trained in a lot of treatments since then. But nothing has shaped how I think about therapy more.
Linehan knew suffering from the inside. As a young woman, she spent years in a psychiatric hospital herself. She later wrote that she made a vow to get out of hell and then "go back into hell and get others out." She spent the rest of her life doing exactly that.
The idea of hers I come back to most is simple. Therapy shouldn't only keep people alive. It should help them build a life worth living.
That idea shapes how we treat depression at our Lee's Summit office. Feeling less depressed matters, of course. But the real goal is bigger. We want you to have energy for the things you care about, feel close to the people you love, and move toward your own goals again.
So if you're looking for depression therapy in Lee's Summit that's active and evidence-based, here's what that looks like with us. I'll also walk you through how we decide which kind of help fits you.
What does "active" depression therapy actually look like?
Active depression therapy means you and your therapist work on specific skills and changes, not just talk about your week. At Aspire Counseling in Lee's Summit, that usually means behavioral activation or DBT, practice between sessions, and a short questionnaire every so often so we can both see whether therapy is working.
Talking helps. Feeling understood matters a lot. But for most people with depression, talking alone isn't enough.
Depression tells you to wait until you feel better before you do anything. That makes sense. Everything feels heavy. The problem is that waiting usually keeps you stuck. If you've been pushing through depression for years, you probably know exactly what I mean.
Here's what active therapy usually includes with us:
A real plan. Your first session is a chance to meet and ask questions. The next couple of sessions are a thorough assessment, so your therapist understands the big picture before building a treatment plan with you.
Skills you practice. You'll try new things in session and between sessions. That's where most of the change happens.
A therapist who will gently push. Your therapist will validate how hard this is. They'll also nudge you to do the things depression tells you to skip.
Measuring progress. Adults fill out the PHQ-9 and teens fill out the PHQ-A every so often. Depression can feel so heavy that it's hard to notice when you're starting to feel better. The numbers help us both see it. You can read more about how we track outcomes.
Why is depression treatment such a big focus in Lee's Summit?
Depression is one of the main things we treat at our Lee's Summit office. We see people ages 12 and up: middle and high schoolers, college students, and adults. You can come to our office on SE Bayberry Lane or meet online from anywhere in Missouri.
Parents are sometimes surprised that we see kids as young as 12 for depression. But it happens more often than most people think. If you're wondering about your own child, this post on whether a 12-year-old can be depressed is a good place to start.
What makes our Lee's Summit team different is that we have two therapists with real depth in two different evidence-based treatments:
Jill Hasso, LPC, specializes in behavioral activation for adults.
Ashley Elder, MSW, LCSW, LSCSW, has years of experience delivering DBT, including on an inpatient psychiatric unit.
Both of them are also trained in trauma therapy. That matters because depression and trauma show up together a lot. Jill loves Cognitive Processing Therapy. Ashley loves Trauma-Focused CBT for teens.
I'm part of this too. I see clients in Lee's Summit, and I'm on our DBT consultation team with Ashley. You can find more about our overall approach on our main depression counseling page.
Path 1: Behavioral activation for adults who are done feeling stuck
Jill Hasso, LPC works only with adults. She sees clients in person in Lee's Summit and online across Missouri.
Jill loves working with a certain kind of person. You're sick and tired of feeling depressed. You don't want to spend months just talking about it. You want someone to tell you what to do, and you're ready to do it. You want to feel motivated again and feel connected to the people you love.
If that sounds like you, behavioral activation might be a great fit.
What is behavioral activation?
Depression slowly shrinks your life. You stop doing the things you used to enjoy. You see friends less. You skip the walk, the hobby, the phone call. And the less you do, the worse you feel.
Behavioral activation turns that cycle around. It's counterintuitive. It feels like the only thing that will help is doing nothing. But doing nothing keeps you trapped. So instead of waiting for motivation, you start with small, planned steps. Motivation usually shows up after you act, not before.
In session with Jill, that often looks like:
Scheduling specific activities together, right there in the session
Rating your mood before and after an activity, so you can see what actually helps
Pairing something you're dreading with something you enjoy right after it
Starting smaller than you think you need to
And if you've tried this before and it didn't seem to work, that's useful information too. Here's what it can mean when you did the thing and still felt nothing.
What else might Jill use?
Behavioral activation is often the core of Jill's depression work, but it's rarely the only thing. She also uses the Unified Protocol, a CBT approach that targets the emotional patterns underneath both depression and anxiety. She'll bring in other CBT and behavioral techniques when they fit.
When depression comes with trauma, Jill often uses Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT), which she loves. Standard behavioral activation sometimes needs to be adjusted for trauma survivors. We wrote more about that in behavioral activation when trauma is part of the picture.
And if you can't sleep, that's part of the picture too. Depression and insomnia feed each other, and we often work on both.
Path 2: DBT when depression comes with big emotions, self-harm, or a past hospitalization
Ashley Elder, MSW, LCSW, LSCSW works with teens, college students, and young adults. She sees clients in person in Lee's Summit and online. Because she's licensed in both Missouri and Kansas, she can also see teens and students online in Kansas.
Ashley spent years on the inpatient psychiatric unit at the University of Missouri, delivering DBT to fidelity. That means she provided all four parts of DBT the way they were studied in research, not just a few skills here and there.
What I appreciate most about Ashley is that very little rattles her. Self-harm, suicidal thoughts, a teen who just came home from the hospital, a family that's scared and exhausted. She's seen it, and she stays calm and steady. That helps teens trust her. It helps parents breathe again.
What does DBT for depression look like?
Some people's depression looks like a slow fade. Others look more like a storm. Emotions hit hard and fast. Hopelessness turns into self-harm or thoughts of suicide. Relationships feel like they're always on the edge of falling apart.
For that kind of depression, DBT is often the strongest choice. Comprehensive DBT at Aspire includes:
Weekly individual therapy. Here's what actually happens in an individual DBT session.
A weekly skills group. Groups meet online, so clients from both offices can join. Our teen group is a multifamily group built for 14 to 17-year-olds, and the team decides case by case for younger teens.
Skills coaching between sessions, so you can use your skills in the hard moment, not just talk about it later.
A consultation team of DBT-trained therapists who meet every week, so your therapist is never doing this alone.
You can learn more on our DBT page. If you've been stuck on "I knew better and did it anyway" or "I know I overreact, but I can't stop," those posts are a good place to start.
When depression comes with trauma, Ashley often uses Trauma-Focused CBT with teens. And for parents, it helps to know you're part of this too. Here's more on the role of family support when a teen self-harms and teen counseling at our Lee's Summit office.
A note from me: I have one opening right now for a DBT client of my own. I'd especially love to work with a college student. DBT was where I started as a therapist, and it's still some of my favorite work. If that might be you, mention it when you reach out.
Isn't DBT just for people who are suicidal?
No. DBT was first developed for people who were chronically suicidal, but its goal was always bigger than keeping someone alive. DBT helps people build a life worth living: reaching their goals, handling hard emotions, and feeling close to the people they love. That makes it a strong fit for many kinds of depression.
Linehan said it herself: "We're not a suicide prevention program. We're a 'life worth living' program." (University of Washington, 2004)
I tell my clients some version of this all the time. DBT isn't simply about getting through the next crisis. It's about building an actual life. One where you reach your goals, feel connected to your family and friends, and get to enjoy things again.
To me, that's what good depression treatment is about too.
Here's something a lot of people don't realize. DBT's emotion regulation skills include building more positive experiences into your week and doing things that give you a sense of mastery. That overlaps a lot with behavioral activation. So the two paths in this post aren't opposites. They share a lot of the same DNA.
One more DBT idea has shaped how I see depression. DBT assumes people are doing the best they can. It also assumes they need to do better anyway. I believe both are true. If you're depressed, you're doing the best you can right now, even if it doesn't look that way to anyone else. And therapy can help you do more than just survive.
How do we decide which path fits you?
You don't have to figure this out on your own. That's our job. But here's a rough guide.
Behavioral activation with Jill may fit if:
You're an adult
Your life has gotten smaller, and you've stopped doing the things you used to enjoy
Low energy, low motivation, and pulling away from people are the biggest problems
You want structure and you're ready to practice between sessions
DBT with Ashley may fit if:
You're a teen, college student, or young adult
Your depression comes with intense emotions that swing fast
You're dealing with self-harm or thoughts of suicide
You've been in the hospital or a higher level of care and need strong outpatient support now
You've tried therapy before and it didn't stick
It's not always either/or. Both Jill and Ashley pull in other CBT and behavioral tools when they fit. And when depression comes with trauma, both are trained to treat that too. Sometimes it's hard to tell what's driving what. If you're wondering whether it's anxiety, depression, or both, or you look fine on the outside but feel empty inside, we'll sort that out together.
What happens when you reach out to Aspire Counseling
You talk with our client care team about what's going on and what you're looking for.
We match you with a therapist based on their expertise, personality, approach, and availability.
You start with a free consultation to make sure it feels like a good fit.
Your first couple of sessions are an assessment, so your therapist can build a plan that fits you.
If the match doesn't feel right, call us back. We'll match you with someone else. No hard feelings.
Does this kind of depression therapy actually work?
Our numbers say yes. On average, clients who start therapy with Jill or Ashley in the moderate to moderately severe range drop into the mild range by about 12 weeks. Many end up in the minimal range by the time they finish therapy.
We measure depression with the PHQ-9 for adults and the PHQ-A for teens. Both are scored the same way:
0 to 4: minimal
5 to 9: mild
10 to 14: moderate
15 to 19: moderately severe
20 to 27: severe
I pulled these numbers from our measurement platform in November 2026. I only included clients who started with a score of 10 or higher, meaning at least moderate depression.
Jill's adult clients (PHQ-9):
Start of therapy: 16.8 on average
12 weeks: 7.3
20 weeks: 5.3
Ashley's teen clients (PHQ-A):
Start of therapy: 17.2 on average
12 weeks: 10.0
End of therapy: 3.0
Ashley's clients 18 and older (PHQ-9):
Start of therapy: 15.6 on average
12 weeks: 6.0
End of therapy: 4.0
Across all teens Ashley has seen with at least mild symptoms, the average score went from 14 at the start to 7 at the end.
A few honest caveats
These are real-world results from real clients, not a controlled research study.
Averages can't predict how any one person will do.
Some of these groups are small.
We're always measuring, so these numbers will shift a little over time.
If you're curious, our practice-wide numbers tell a similar story. Among 264 clients who started with at least moderate depression, the average score dropped from 15.44 to 7.35 over 20 weeks.
Common questions about depression therapy in Lee's Summit
Do you treat teen depression in Lee's Summit?
Yes. We see teens for depression at our Lee's Summit office and online. Ashley Elder specializes in teens and uses DBT, CBT, and TF-CBT. Parents are part of the process, while we still protect the teen's privacy and their time in therapy.
What's the youngest age you see for depression?
We treat depression in clients ages 12 and up. For younger children, we have therapists who specialize in child counseling.
Is DBT used to treat depression?
Yes. DBT is especially helpful when depression comes with intense emotions, self-harm, or suicidal thoughts. Its skills also help people build more positive experiences and feel more in control, which helps with depression in general.
Can I do depression therapy online?
Yes. We offer online therapy anywhere in Missouri. Ashley is also licensed in Kansas, so she can see teens and college students online there too.
Do you take insurance?
We're a private-pay practice, so we don't bill insurance directly. Many clients use out-of-network benefits, and we can help you figure that out. Our rates page has more details.
What if I'm in crisis right now?
If you're thinking about ending your life or you're not safe, call or text 988, call 911, or go to your nearest emergency room. If you're already a client, you can also email your therapist or call our client care team to ask about getting in sooner.
Begin Depression Therapy in Lee's Summit
At Aspire Counseling, we believe in doing what works. For some people, that's behavioral activation with Jill and a clear plan to get life moving again. For others, it's DBT with Ashley and the skills to get through the storm without making things worse. Sometimes it's trauma therapy, because the depression has older roots. We'll help you figure out which path fits.
You can reach us a few ways:
Call our Lee's Summit office at 816-287-1116 or our Columbia office at 573-328-2288. The same client care team answers both numbers.
Reach out online and ask our client care team to call you at a time that works.
We see clients in person at our Lee's Summit office and our Columbia office, and online anywhere in Missouri.
Depression will tell you nothing is going to change. Whenever you're ready to start building a life worth living, we're here.
About the Author
Jessica Oliver, MSW, LCSW (formerly Jessica Tappana) is the founder and Clinical Director of Aspire Counseling, with offices in Lee's Summit and Columbia. She has worked in mental health since 2008, when she first learned DBT as a social work intern at Fulton State Hospital. DBT was her main approach for more than a decade, and it still shapes how she thinks about therapy. She was hired by NASW Missouri to speak across the state on assessing and treating suicidal clients.
Today Jessica serves on Aspire's DBT consultation team alongside Ashley Elder and still sees clients every week. She wrote this post the week Marsha Linehan died, in honor of the woman whose work shaped her career. The outcome data in this post comes from Jill Hasso's and Ashley Elder's clients and was pulled from Aspire's measurement platform in November 2026.
