The pretreatment phase in dialectical behavior therapy (DBT) sets the critical foundation for working with multiproblem, often highly suicidal clients. Despite the importance of this stage of treatment, very little has been written to aid DBT clinicians in navigating these early sessions most effectively. This article describes the functions and goals of pretreatment in DBT and research relevant to strategies employed in pretreatment. Additionally, a case example of a pretreatment session in DBT is provided, and challenges commonly encountered in pretreatment are discussed, along with recommendations for overcoming those challenges. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2019 APA, all rights reserved).