Dialectical Behavior Therapy Rutgers University Research Program (DBT-RU)

This protocol establishes a research oriented psychological treatment clinic within the Graduate School of Applied and Professional Psychology (GSAPP), called the Dialectical Behavior Therapy Rutgers University Research Program (DBT-RU). The overall aim of the proposed research is to find ways to improve therapist training in existing treatments for complex and difficult-to-treat problems (e.g., DBT, prolonged exposure), develop new and more effective treatments, and improve understanding of severe psychopathology. Consequently, this proposed research will have four branches: (1) training of research clinicians and evaluation of training methods; (2) training of clinical evaluators for the research studies and evaluation of assessment training methods; (3) assessment of treatment outcome, including assessment of mediators and moderators of change (both clinician and client data); (4) assessment and analyses of psychopathology of subject populations who participate in the DBT-RU.

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Borderline Personality Disorder
• Intervention / Treatment: Behavioral: Dialectical Behavior Therapy

Detailed Description

DBT is an evidence-based and empirically supported treatment for borderline personality disorder (BPD), suicide, and self-injury. DBT is traditionally administered for a minimum of 6 months in an outpatient setting but has been adapted to be used in other treatment settings (e.g., intensive outpatient). DBT consists of multiple key components, including weekly individual therapy, group skills training, and option to engage in out-of-session contact with their provider via telephone to receive coaching on how to use DBT skills to manage real-life issues (e.g., urges to harm self). To date, more than a dozen randomized control trials (RCTs) and quasi-experimental studies have been conducted, and compared to 12 months of treatment as usual (TAU), DBT has been shown to result in significantly greater reduction in frequency and severity of self-injurious behaviors, inpatient hospitalizations, suicidal ideation, and substance abuse (see Panos, Jackson, Hasan, & Panos, 2014 ). This research aims to (1) advance our understanding of underlying mechanisms driving treatment outcomes; (2) isolate the effects of particular components and strategies employed in DBT on various outcomes (e.g., suicide), (3) enhance training and evaluation methods for research clinicians; (4) test to see if benefits in DBT are sustained over a period of time beyond follow-up; and (5) advance our knowledge of how DBT operates in everyday life to reduce day-to-day emotion dysregulation and related target behaviors (e.g., suicidal behavior).

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Actual): 145
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• United States
  • New Jersey
    • Piscataway, New Jersey, United States, 08854
      • Rutgers University

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 18 years and older (Adult, Older Adult)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

A. Age 18 years or older. B. Agreement to take part in assessments, videotaping/audiotaping and coding of their sessions by research personnel.

C. Agreement to pay for mental health services at the DBT-RU, and to participate in research assessments as volunteers.

D. Residence within commuting distance of clinic (< 45 minutes) E. Agreement to discontinue other forms of therapy F. Meets criteria for borderline personality disorder (BPD)

Exclusion Criteria:

• A. Clients who need mental health services not available at the DBT-RU, such as treatment for schizophrenia or life-threatening anorexia, or who are currently obtaining optimum professional treatment that should not be ended.

B. Non-English speaking. C. Present DSM-IV diagnosis of Mental Retardation. D. Unable to understand research consent forms.

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
Experimental: Dialectical Behavior Therapy; All participants receive six months of standard DBT which includes individual therapy, skills training, and as-needed phone consultation.	Behavioral: Dialectical Behavior Therapy; DBT is a multimodal comprehensive psychosocial treatment.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Self-Injurious Thoughts and Behaviors Interview	Interview to assess prevalence rates of suicidal and self-injurious thoughts and behaviors	Past six months
Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-5	Interview to assess lifetime and current rates of psychological disorders	At baseline, lifetime history is assessed. At 3-months and 6-months, changes to diagnostic status are assessed.

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Time Frame
Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale	Past two weeks
Borderline Symptom List (BSL-23)	Past 1 month
Brief Symptom Inventory (BSI)	Past 1 week

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey

Publications and helpful links

General Publications

• Fitzpatrick S, Bailey K, Rizvi SL. Changes in Emotions Over the Course of Dialectical Behavior Therapy and the Moderating Role of Depression, Anxiety, and Posttraumatic Stress Disorder. Behav Ther. 2020 Nov;51(6):946-957. doi: 10.1016/j.beth.2019.12.009. Epub 2019 Dec 30.

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): March 1, 2010
• Primary Completion (Actual): December 1, 2023
• Study Completion (Actual): December 1, 2023

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: April 18, 2017
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: April 20, 2017
• First Posted (Actual): April 21, 2017

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): July 30, 2024
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: July 29, 2024
• Last Verified: July 1, 2024

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: borderline personality disorder; dialectical behavior therapy; suicidal behaviors
• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Mental Disorders; Personality Disorders; Borderline Personality Disorder
• Other Study ID Numbers: Pro2019001864

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

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

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: No
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: No