Dialectical Behavior Therapy Skills Group Pilot Evaluation

Uncontrolled pilot study examines feasibility, acceptability, and preliminary efficacy of Dialectical Behavior Therapy skills group for Veterans with suicidal ideation and emotion dysregulation.

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Suicidal Ideation; Emotions
• Intervention / Treatment: Behavioral: Dialectical behavior therapy skills group

Detailed Description

Uncontrolled pilot study to examine feasibility, acceptability, and preliminary efficacy of Dialectical Behavior Therapy skills group for Veterans with suicidal ideation and emotion dysregulation. Outcome measures will occur at pre-treatment, mid, end, and follow-up.

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Actual): 17
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• United States
  • Connecticut
    • West Haven, Connecticut, United States, 06516
      • VA Connecticut Health Care System

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 18 years to 65 years (Adult, Older Adult)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No
• Genders Eligible for Study: All

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

1. Veterans at VACHS who are referred or self-referred to DBT Skills Group
2. Ages 18-65
3. Able to understand written and spoken English
4. DERS score 105 or greater
5. Suicidal ideation within past 3 months
6. Seeing an individual mental health provider at VACHS at least monthly
7. Willing to create or review a Mental Health Safety Plan, and stated willingness to use this plan to maintain safety
8. Consent to participate in study assessments
9. Consent to recording of group sessions

Exclusion Criteria:

1. Inability to understand written or spoken English
2. Diagnosis of schizophrenia, schizoaffective disorder, bipolar I, antisocial personality disorder, or thought disorder in CPRS problem list and confirmed by current mental health provider

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

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

Number of Arms

1

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
Other: Skills group; Dialectical behavior therapy skills group	Behavioral: Dialectical behavior therapy skills group; Skills training in emotion regulation, distress tolerance, interpersonal effectiveness, and mindfulness

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Feasibility as Assessed by Attendance at Sessions for Duration of Intervention (Percent of Sessions Attended)	Participation in skills group as assessed by attendance at sessions for duration of intervention (percent of sessions attended)	6 months

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Acceptability as Assessed by Positive Feedback on Written Satisfaction Evaluations Completed by Participants at Mid-point of Intervention	Acceptability to participants on the "Client Satisfaction Scale" created for this study. Participants rated group satisfaction on 11 items using 7point scale. Scale is scored by calculating mean of the 11 items. Scale range is 1-7. A higher score indicates greater satisfaction; a lower score indicates greater dissatisfaction, with 4 as the midpoint.	3 months
Acceptability as Assessed by Positive Feedback on Written Satisfaction Evaluations Completed by Participants at Post-intervention	Acceptability to participants on the "Client Satisfaction Scale" created for this study. Participants rated group satisfaction on 11 items using 7point scale. Scale is scored by calculating mean of the 11 items. Scale range is 1-7. A higher score indicates greater satisfaction; a lower score indicates greater dissatisfaction, with 4 as the midpoint.	6 months
Acceptability as Assessed by Positive Feedback on Written Satisfaction Evaluations Completed by Participants at Follow-up	Acceptability to participants on the "Client Satisfaction Scale" created for this study. Participants rated group satisfaction on 11 items using 7point scale. Scale is scored by calculating mean of the 11 items. Scale range is 1-7. A higher score indicates greater satisfaction; a lower score indicates greater dissatisfaction, with 4 as the midpoint.	9 months
Suicidal Ideation on Suicidal Behavior Questionnaire at 3months	Scale title: Suicidal Behavior Questionnaire. Minimum value = 0, maximum value = 92. Higher score indicates greater suicidal ideation; lower score indicates lower suicidal ideation.	3 months
Suicidal Ideation on Suicidal Behavior Questionnaire at 6months	Scale title: Suicidal Behavior Questionnaire. Minimum value = 0, maximum value = 92. Higher score indicates greater suicidal ideation; lower score indicates lower suicidal ideation.	6 months
Suicidal Ideation on Suicidal Behavior Questionnaire at 9months	Scale title: Suicidal Behavior Questionnaire. Minimum value = 0, maximum value = 92. Higher score indicates greater suicidal ideation; lower score indicates lower suicidal ideation.	9 months
Emotion Dysregulation as Assessed Using Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale at 3months	Scale title: Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale (DERS). Scale range: 36-180. Higher score indicates greater difficulties regulating emotions. Lower score indicates fewer difficulties regulating emotions.	3 months
Emotion Dysregulation as Assessed Using Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale at 6months (End of Intervention)	Scale title: Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale (DERS). Scale range: 36-180. Higher score indicates greater difficulties regulating emotions. Lower score indicates fewer difficulties regulating emotions.	6 months
Emotion Dysregulation as Assessed Using Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale at 9months	Scale title: Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale (DERS). Scale range: 36-180. Higher score indicates greater difficulties regulating emotions. Lower score indicates fewer difficulties regulating emotions.	9 months
Coping as Assessed With the DBT (Dialectical Behavior Therapy) Ways of Coping Checklist at 3months	Scale title: Dialectical Behavior Therapy Ways of Coping Checklist (DBT-WCCL) effective coping subscale. Minimum score: 0. Maximum score: 3. Higher score indicates more frequent use of adaptive coping strategies. Lower score indicates less frequent use of adaptive coping strategies.	3 months
Coping as Assessed With the DBT Ways of Coping Checklist at 6 Months	Scale title: Dialectical Behavior Therapy Ways of Coping Checklist (DBT-WCCL) effective coping subscale. Minimum score: 0. Maximum score: 3. Higher score indicates more frequent use of adaptive coping strategies. Lower score indicates less frequent use of adaptive coping strategies.	6 months
Coping as Assessed With the DBT Ways of Coping Checklist at 9months	Scale title: Dialectical Behavior Therapy Ways of Coping Checklist (DBT-WCCL) effective coping subscale. Minimum score: 0. Maximum score: 3. Higher score indicates more frequent use of adaptive coping strategies. Lower score indicates less frequent use of adaptive coping strategies.	9 months

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: VA Connecticut Healthcare System
• Collaborators: US Department of Veterans Affairs
• Investigators: Principal Investigator: Suzanne Decker, PhD, VA Connecticut Health Care System

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start: December 1, 2014
• Primary Completion (Actual): March 1, 2017
• Study Completion (Actual): March 1, 2017

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: June 1, 2015
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: July 13, 2015
• First Posted (Estimate): July 16, 2015

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): January 20, 2021
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: December 28, 2020
• Last Verified: January 1, 2020

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Behavioral Symptoms; Self-Injurious Behavior; Suicide; Suicidal Ideation
• Other Study ID Numbers: VACHS HSS 01883

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

• Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?: No