Dialectic Behaviour Therapy (DBT) for People With Autism: A Multiple Baseline Single Case Design (DGT-ASS)

August 25, 2026 updated by: GGZ Friesland

Dialectic Behaviour Therapy (DBT) for People With Autism, Emotion Regulation Difficulties and Self-harm Behaviour: A Multiple Baseline Single Case Design

The goal of this experimental study is to test the effectiveness of Dialectic Behavioural Therapy in patients with Autism Spectrum Disorder. The aim questions are:

  1. What is the effect of DBT on maladaptive emotion regulation strategies and emotional well-being in patients with ASD?
  2. Is the use of DBT skills associated with a reduction in maladaptive emotion regulation strategies and an increase of emotional well-being over time?
  3. What are the dynamics over time between maladaptive emotion regulation strategies, emotional well-being and sensory overload?

Participants will:

  • Follow DBT of 10 months
  • Keep a diary on their urge of maladaptive emotion regulation strategies and well-being

Study Overview

Status

Status

Indicates the current recruitment status or the expanded access status.
Recruiting

Conditions

Conditions

The disease, disorder, syndrome, illness, or injury that is being studied. On ClinicalTrials.gov, conditions may also include other health-related issues, such as lifespan, quality of life, and health risks.

Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.

Study Type

Study Type

Describes the nature of a clinical study. Study types include interventional studies (also called clinical trials), observational studies (including patient registries), and expanded access.
Interventional

Enrollment (Estimated)

Enrollment

The number of participants in a clinical study. The "anticipated" enrollment is the target number of participants that the researchers need for the study.
6

Phase

Phase

The stage of a clinical trial studying a drug or biological product, based on definitions developed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The phase is based on the study's objective, the number of participants, and other characteristics. There are five phases: Early Phase 1 (formerly listed as Phase 0), Phase 1, Phase 2, Phase 3, and Phase 4. Not Applicable is used to describe trials without FDA-defined phases, including trials of devices or behavioral interventions.
  • Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Contact

Study Contact

The name and contact information for the person who can answer enrollment questions for a clinical study. Each location where the study is being conducted may also have a specific contact, who may be better able to answer those questions.

Study Locations

  • Netherlands
    • Provincie Friesland
      • Leeuwarden, Provincie Friesland, Netherlands, 8934AD
        • Recruiting
        • GGZ Friesland

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

The key requirements that people who want to participate in a clinical study must meet or the characteristics they must have. Eligibility criteria consist of both inclusion criteria (which are required for a person to participate in the study) and exclusion criteria (which prevent a person from participating). Types of eligibility criteria include whether a study accepts healthy volunteers, has age or age group requirements, or is limited by sex.

Ages Eligible for Study

  • Child
  • Adult
  • Older Adult

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • DSM-5 diagnosis of ASD
  • Sufficient understanding, as demonstrated in conversation with intake therapist;
  • Explicit behavioural problems, which, according to patient and therapist, lead to functional problems (like suicidal ideation, auto mutilation, emotional outburst and interpersonal conflicts);
  • BMI > 17;
  • Commitment to the therapy and shared goals as assessed by intake therapist;

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Antisocial behaviour which interrupts the group climate;
  • Presence of a trauma-related disorder that is likely to interfere with the ability to engage effectively in DBT or that requires specialized trauma-focused treatment prior to or alongside DBT as assessed by intake team;
  • Excessive dependency on substances for which no parallel appropriate policy can be made;
  • Diagnosis of psychotic disorder if not stable;
  • Diagnosed with bipolar disorder.

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Treatment
  • Allocation: N/A
  • Interventional Model: Single Group Assignment
  • Masking: None (Open Label)

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm

Participant Group / Arm

A group or subgroup of participants in a clinical trial that receives a specific intervention/treatment, or no intervention, according to the trial's protocol.
Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.
Experimental: Dialectic Behavioural Therapy
Dialectic Behavioural Therapy for emotion regulation, adapted to individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder, given for 10 months
Behavioral: Dialectic Behavioural Therapy
Dialectic Behavioural Therapy for emotion regulation, adapted to individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Primary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, the planned outcome measure that is the most important for evaluating the effect of an intervention/treatment. Most clinical studies have one primary outcome measure, but some have more than one.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Maladaptive Emotion Regulation Strategies (MERS) measured assessed by the DBT diary (Linehan, 2016)
Time Frame: From enrollment to end of treatment at 10 months

MERS is the average of the urge to six maladaptive emotion regulation strategies:

  1. suicidal thoughts/behaviours
  2. self-harm,
  3. eating problems
  4. substance abuse
  5. anger outburst
  6. other All emotion regulation strategies are measured on a scale from 0 - 100. MERS will be created by adding scores of the six strategies together and divide it by 6.
From enrollment to end of treatment at 10 months
Emotional well-being as assessed by the DBT diary (Linehan, 2016)
Time Frame: From enrollment to end of treatment at 10 months
The daily diary measures emotional suffering and happiness on a scale from 0 - 100. Emotional suffering is inverted, following the logic that higher emotional suffering means lower emotional well-being. The variable well-being is created by averaging the invert of emotional suffering and happiness.
From enrollment to end of treatment at 10 months

Secondary Outcome Measures

Secondary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, a planned outcome measure that is not as important as the primary outcome measure for evaluating the effect of an intervention but is still of interest. Most clinical studies have more than one secondary outcome measure.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Social behaviour
Time Frame: At start of baseline (T1), at end of treatment phase at 10 months (T2)
As measured by the Vragenlijst Inventarisatie van Sociaal gedrag bij Volwassenen (VIS-V) (Horwitz et al. 2013). The VIS-V is a 44-item questionnaire that assess social behaviour, with answers ranging from 0 (= not applicable) to 2 (=cleary applicable). Higher scores mean lower social behaviour.
At start of baseline (T1), at end of treatment phase at 10 months (T2)
Emotion regulation
Time Frame: At the start of the baseline phase (T1), at the end of the treatment phase at 10 months (T2)
As measured with the Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale (DERS) (Gratz & Roemer, 2004). The DERS is a 36-item questionnaire with 5-point Likert answers, ranging from "almost never" to "almost always".
At the start of the baseline phase (T1), at the end of the treatment phase at 10 months (T2)
Generic psychopathology and functioning
Time Frame: At the start of the baseline phase (T1), at the end of the treatment phase at 10 months (T2)
As measured with the Outcome Questionnaire-45 (OQ-45) (De Jong et al., 2008). The OQ-45 is a 45-item questionnaire, with answers ranging from never (0) to almost always (4). Some items are mirrored.
At the start of the baseline phase (T1), at the end of the treatment phase at 10 months (T2)

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Sponsor

The organization or person who initiates the study and who has authority and control over the study.
GGZ Friesland

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Estimated)

Study Start

The actual date on which the first participant was enrolled in a clinical study. The "anticipated" study start date is the date that the researchers think will be the study start date.
September 1, 2026

Primary Completion (Estimated)

Primary Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention to collect final data for the primary outcome measure. Whether the clinical study ended according to the protocol or was terminated does not affect this date. For clinical studies with more than one primary outcome measure with different completion dates, this term refers to the date on which data collection is completed for all the primary outcome measures. The "anticipated" primary completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the primary completion date for the study.
August 1, 2027

Study Completion (Estimated)

Study Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention/treatment to collect final data for the primary outcome measures, secondary outcome measures, and adverse events (that is, the last participant's last visit). The "anticipated" study completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the study completion date.
February 1, 2028

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

First Submitted

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submitted a study record to ClinicalTrials.gov. There is typically a delay of a few days between the first submitted date and the record's availability on ClinicalTrials.gov (the first posted date).
August 12, 2026

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submits a study record that is consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. The sponsor or investigator may need to revise and submit a study record one or more times before NLM's QC review criteria are met. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
August 25, 2026

First Posted (Actual)

First Posted

The date on which the study record was first available on ClinicalTrials.gov after National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review has concluded. There is typically a delay of a few days between the date the study sponsor or investigator submitted the study record and the first posted date.
August 26, 2026

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

Last Update Posted

The most recent date on which changes to a study record were made available on ClinicalTrials.gov. There may be a delay between when the changes were submitted to ClinicalTrials.gov by the study's sponsor or investigator (the last update submitted date) and the last update posted date.
August 26, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator submitted changes to a study record that are consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
August 25, 2026

Last Verified

Last Verified

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator confirmed the information about a clinical study on ClinicalTrials.gov as accurate and current. If a study with a recruitment status of recruiting; not yet recruiting; or active, not recruiting has not been confirmed within the past 2 years, the study's recruitment status is shown as unknown.
July 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

Other Study ID Numbers

Identifiers or ID numbers other than the NCT number that are assigned to a clinical study by the study's sponsor, funders, or others. These numbers may include unique identifiers from other trial registries and National Institutes of Health grant numbers.
  • 2025/666

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

NO

IPD Plan Description

To protect the participants of the study

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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