Razrabotannaya eyu dialekticheskaya povedencheskaya terapiya spasla zhizni ogromnogo chisla lyudey, sklonnyh k depressii i suitsidu, lyudey s pogranichnym rasstroystvom lichnosti i drugimi tyazhelymi psihicheskimi rasstroystvami. Odnako doktor Linehan nikogda ne rasskazyvala, chto ee novatorskaya rabota neotdelima ot ee sobstvennoy istorii. V ranney molodosti Marsha poklyalas, chto esli ey udastsya vybratsya iz ada, v kotoryy prevratilas ee zhizn, to ona prilozhit vse usiliya, chtoby pomoch vybratsya i drugim. Ona sderzhala obeschanie, proydya put ot devushki, zapertoy v psihushke, do vsemirno izvestnogo sozdatelya terapii. Linehan uchit lyudey tomu, chto kazhdyy chelovek, kakoy by nevynosimoy ne byla ego zhiznennaya situatsiya, mozhet postroit zhizn, dostoynuyu prozhivaniya.