Treating Self-Hatred in Suicidal and Self-Harming Adolescents

with Blaise Aguirre, MD 

| Founding Medical Director, 3East DBT Continuum – McLean Hospital / Harvard Medical School
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Program Details

When

June 5, 2026

8:30AM – 1:45PM PST: Educational Program
1:45PM – 2:30PM PST: Optional Residential Program Tour

Location

Compass Behavioral Health
Outpatient Clinic
130 South B Street
Tustin, CA 92780

Cost

$250 | In-Person Attendance
*includes catered lunch and signed copy of the workbook:
“I Hate Myself: Overcome Self-Loathing”

$200 | Remote Attendance

**In-person space is limited and advance registration is recommended.

Target Audience

  • Psychiatrists and Physicians
  • Psychologists
  • Marriage and Family Therapists
  • Licensed Clinical Social Workers
  • Psychiatric Nurse Practitioners
  • Nurses
  • Behavioral health clinicians working with suicidal adolescents

Program Overview

Self-hatred is a powerful yet frequently misunderstood driver of self-harm, suicidality, and identity disturbance in adolescents. In clinical settings it is often misinterpreted as shame, depression, perfectionism, or oppositional behavior, leading to incomplete case conceptualization and ineffective intervention strategies. 

This educational program provides clinicians with a developmentally informed framework for recognizing, conceptualizing, and treating entrenched self-hatred in suicidal and self-harming adolescents. Participants will learn how identity disruption, trauma, and chronic invalidation contribute to the development of self-hatred and how targeted interventions can support identity development, compassion, and recovery. 

Unlike broader trainings that primarily focus on adult populations, this program centers specifically on adolescents, addressing developmental, diagnostic, relational, and cultural factors that influence identity formation and suicidality in youth. 

The educational program concludes with a Lunch-and-Learn session led by Compass Behavioral Health Executive Director Cherie Mills, highlighting how compassion-focused and identity-development interventions are implemented within Compass’s residential DBT program for suicidal and self-harming adolescents. 

Why This Training Matters

Self-hatred is one of the most powerful drivers of suicidal behavior and chronic self-injury in adolescents. Yet in clinical practice it is frequently misidentified as shame, depression, perfectionism, or oppositional behavior. 

When self-hatred is misunderstood, treatment plans often fail to address the underlying identity-based distress fueling suicidal thoughts and self-destructive behaviors. 

This training provides clinicians with a clinically practical framework for recognizing and treating entrenched self-hatred in suicidal adolescents. Drawing from Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT), compassion-focused therapy, and developmental models of identity formation, participants will learn strategies that can be applied immediately in outpatient, intensive outpatient, partial hospitalization, and residential treatment settings.

Educational Need

Clinicians frequently encounter adolescents whose self-harm and suicidality are driven by entrenched self-hatred and identity disturbance. 

Traditional diagnostic frameworks may fail to identify self-hatred as a distinct treatment target, resulting in incomplete case conceptualization and ineffective treatment strategies. 

This educational activity addresses the need for improved conceptualization, assessment, and intervention strategies for treating identity-based self-hatred in adolescents.

Learning Objectives

1. Recognize self-hatred as a distinct driver of suicidal behavior in adolescents

2. Differentiate self-hatred from shame, perfectionism, and depression

3. Understand how trauma, chronic invalidation, and identity disruption contribute to self-destructive behaviors 
4. Identify clinical indicators and risk factors associated with entrenched self-hatred 

5. Apply compassion-focused and identity-development interventions in suicidal adolescents 

6. Integrate these strategies within Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) treatment frameworks 

7. Use culturally responsive approaches that reduce bias in assessment and treatment

Program Schedule


Time Session
8:30 - 12:30 Treating Self-Hatred in Suicidal & Self-Harming Adolescents — Dr. Blaise Aguirre
12:30 - 12:40 Transition to Residential Campus
12:45 - 1:45 Lunch-and-Learn: Mindful Self-Compassion Focused DBT in Compass’ Residential Treatment Program, The Farmhouse - Cherie Mills
1:45 - 2:30 Optional Residential Program Tour

Speakers

Blaise Aguirre, MD

Leadership

Founding Medical Director
3East DBT Continuum — McLean Hospital / Harvard Medical School

Author

  • Borderline Personality Disorder in Adolescents
  • Mindfulness for Borderline Personality Disorder
  • Coping with BPD
  • DBT for Dummies

Expertise

  • International lecturer on adolescent suicidality and Dialectical Behavior Therapy
  • Leading Expert in the treatment of severe emotion dysregulation and self-injury in youth

 

Dr. Aguirre is the Founding Medical Director of the 3East DBT Continuum at McLean Hospital/Harvard Medical School and an internationally recognized expert in adolescent suicidality and Dialectical Behavior Therapy. He has spent more than two decades treating adolescents with chronic suicidality, self‑injury, and severe emotion dysregulation, and through the 3East program he has helped pioneer intensive DBT treatment models for high‑acuity adolescents and young adults. His work focuses on how shame, self‑hatred, and chronic invalidation contribute to suicidal behavior, and how compassion‑focused and identity‑based interventions can support recovery. A leading lecturer on these topics worldwide, he is also the author of several influential books

 

 

Cherie Mills, LMFT

Leadership

Executive Director and Founder
Compass Behavioral Health

Experience

30 years of clinical experience specializing in the treatment of chronically suicidal and self-harming adolescents

Expertise

  • Linehan Board of Certification — Certified DBT Clinician™
  • Founded the first DBT -Linehan Board of Certification, Certified Program™ in California
  • Led a partnership with Duke University on a six-year Institutional Review Board–approved adolescent DBT research study

 

With over 30 years of clinical experience, Cherie Mills specializes in treating chronically suicidal and self‑harming adolescents. She introduced Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) to Orange County in 2004 through her didactic training of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Fellows at UC Irvine, a program that later expanded into a formal DBT rotation after Compass’s residential program opened. She founded California’s first DBT–Linehan Board of Certification, Certified Program™, establishing Compass Behavioral Health as an early leader in fidelity-based DBT. A former Zen Student of DBT’s developer, Dr Marsha Linehan, her training and retreat practice helped shape Compass’ mindfulness-focused residential campus and curriculum. She also led a six‑year, IRB‑approved research partnership with Duke University that informed Compass’s clinical model and contributed to the publication Enhanced Dialectical Behavior Therapy for Adolescents.

 

 

Credit Designation

Psychologists

This activity offers 5.0 continuing education (CE) credits for psychologists. 
 
 

Other Behavioral Health Professionals 

This activity may meet continuing education requirements for Licensed Clinical Social Workers (LCSWs), Licensed Marriage and Family Therapists (LMFTs), and Licensed Professional Clinical Counselors (LPCCs) depending on individual state licensing board requirements.

Physicians 

Compass Behavioral Health designates this live activity for a maximum of 5.0 AMA PRA Category 1 Credits™. 

*Physicians should claim only the credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.

Participation Requirements

Participants must:

  • Sign in at the beginning of the activity
  • Attend the educational sessions
  • Complete the post-activity evaluation

Certificates will be issued after completion of these requirements.

Accreditation

Compass Behavioral Health is accredited by the California Medical Association (CMA) to provide continuing medical education for physicians.  This recognition reflects our dedication to meeting rigorous standards in medical education and ensuring that our programs enhance physician competence, performance, and patient care.

Compass Behavioral Health is approved by the American Psychological Association (APA) to sponsor continuing education for psychologists. Compass Behavioral Health maintains responsibility for this program and its content.

Additional Information

Accommodations

If you require disability or dietary accommodations,
please contact email trainings@mycompassnow.com
*Requests should be made at least two weeks prior to the event.

Grievances

To report a grievance, email trainings@mycompassnow.com or call 888-265-9114

Commercial Support

This activity has not received commercial support.