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Group Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT) Skills Training for First Episode Psychosis

12. september 2026 oppdatert av: Centre for Addiction and Mental Health

Group Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT) Skills Training for Individuals With First Episode Psychosis: a Feasibility Study

Psychosis is a serious mental health condition that can affect how a person thinks, feels, and functions in daily life, often making it harder to maintain relationships, continue education, or work. Even with standard treatment, many people continue to experience emotional distress, depression, anxiety, and difficulty coping with strong emotions. These challenges can worsen recovery, increase the risk of substance use and suicidal behaviour, and place a significant burden on individuals, families, and the healthcare system.

Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT) is a skills-based psychological treatment that helps people manage emotions, tolerate distress, and improve relationships. Although DBT has been effective in other mental health conditions, it has not been well studied in people with first-episode psychosis.

This study will evaluate an 8-week group DBT skills training adapted for individuals with first-episode psychosis. The study aims to assess whether the program is acceptable and feasible to deliver, and whether it may improve emotion regulation, mood, resilience, and functioning. Findings will inform whether a larger clinical trial of this intervention should be conducted.

Studieoversikt

Status

Har ikke rekruttert ennå

Forhold

Intervensjon / Behandling

Detaljert beskrivelse

Despite evidence that individuals with psychotic disorders experience marked emotion dysregulation, impulsivity and elevated suicide risk, they have largely been excluded from clinical trials evaluating DBT. Nevertheless, emerging pilot studies support the feasibility and potential efficacy of brief DBT-informed skills group in individuals with psychosis, with participants reporting high satisfaction and improvements in understanding and managing emotions, suicidality, and interpersonal functioning. However, this literature remains preliminary and underdeveloped, and no studies have evaluated group DBT skills intervention specifically for individuals with first-episode psychosis.

Aim 1: To evaluate the acceptability of the group DBT skills training invention and the feasibility of conducting a fully powered randomized controlled trial (RCT) of in young men with psychosis.

Aim 2: To assess the preliminary efficacy of group DBT skills training in improving emotion regulation, resilience, and functioning and reducing, mood and anxiety and substance use, in a single-arm exploratory clinical trial.

This study will provide evidence of the feasibility, acceptability, and preliminary efficacy of a group DBT skills training for young men with first-episode psychosis. Findings will advance understanding of emotion regulation as a treatment target in psychosis and inform the development of larger controlled trials evaluating emotion-focused interventions in early psychosis care. The intervention could represent a scalable and practical psychosocial treatment to address emotional difficulties that are common but often under-treated in psychosis.

This study employing qualitative and quantitative methods to evaluate the group DBT skills training intervention and test its feasibility, and acceptability in individuals with psychosis. A single arm trial where DBT skills group delivered over 8-weeks, will be conducted. Thirty-two participants are planned to be enrolled in the trial. Participants will continue with their standard outpatient care during the trial. Outcome measures will be completed at study entry and post-treatment. For the qualitative component of the study, 15 post-intervention semi-structured interviews will be conducted.

Studietype

Intervensjonell

Registrering (Antatt)

32

Fase

  • Ikke aktuelt

Kontakter og plasseringer

Denne delen inneholder kontaktinformasjon for de som utfører studien, og informasjon om hvor denne studien blir utført.

Studiekontakt

Deltakelseskriterier

Forskere ser etter personer som passer til en bestemt beskrivelse, kalt kvalifikasjonskriterier. Noen eksempler på disse kriteriene er en persons generelle helsetilstand eller tidligere behandlinger.

Kvalifikasjonskriterier

Alder som er kvalifisert for studier

  • Barn
  • Voksen

Tar imot friske frivillige

Nei

Beskrivelse

Inclusion Criteria:

  1. Be 14-35 years old.
  2. All gender identities are eligible to participate.
  3. Being competent as demonstrated by comprehension of the study procedures, risks, benefits and their rights as a volunteer in the research study and willing to consent to study participation.
  4. Meets criteria for a psychotic spectrum disorder as determined by Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5) (e.g., schizophrenia, schizoaffective disorder, schizophreniform disorder, brief psychotic disorder, delusional disorder, other specified schizophrenia spectrum disorder, or other unspecified schizophrenia spectrum disorder), or bipolar disorder with psychotic features, and is within 3 years of their initial diagnosis.

Exclusion Criteria:

  1. Diagnosis of intellectual disability previously documented in the patient chart.
  2. Acute suicidality requiring immediate life-saving intervention (i.e., inpatient psychiatric care).
  3. Receiving any additional structured psychotherapy interventions during the study period.

Studieplan

Denne delen gir detaljer om studieplanen, inkludert hvordan studien er utformet og hva studien måler.

Hvordan er studiet utformet?

Designdetaljer

  • Primært formål: Behandling
  • Tildeling: N/A
  • Intervensjonsmodell: Enkeltgruppeoppdrag
  • Masking: Ingen (Open Label)

Våpen og intervensjoner

Deltakergruppe / Arm
Intervensjon / Behandling
Eksperimentell: Group DBT
Receive 8-week Group DBT intervention
DBT skills group delivered over 8-weeks

Hva måler studien?

Primære resultatmål

Resultatmål
Tiltaksbeskrivelse
Tidsramme
Adherence
Tidsramme: post treatment (8 weeks after baseline)
Percent sessions attended
post treatment (8 weeks after baseline)
Retention rates
Tidsramme: post treatment (8 weeks after baseline)
Percent participants who complete 8-week study.
post treatment (8 weeks after baseline)
Attrition
Tidsramme: post treatment (8 weeks after baseline)
Percent participants that dropout at 8 weeks
post treatment (8 weeks after baseline)
Client Satisfaction Questionnaire
Tidsramme: post treatment (8 weeks after baseline)
A Likert scale from 1-4, total scores range from 8-32, with higher scores indicating greater satisfaction.
post treatment (8 weeks after baseline)
Timeline Follow Back (TLFB)
Tidsramme: From enrollment to the end of treatment at 8 weeks
A self-report method for substance use, and will be used to quantify the amount/frequency of cannabis in the past 14 days.
From enrollment to the end of treatment at 8 weeks

Sekundære resultatmål

Resultatmål
Tiltaksbeskrivelse
Tidsramme
Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale (BPRS)
Tidsramme: From enrollment to the end of treatment at 8 weeks
a widely used instrument for the assessment of positive, negative and affective symptoms in individuals who have psychotic disorders. It consists of 18 symptom constructs. Total score range from 18-126, higher scores indicating higher severity.
From enrollment to the end of treatment at 8 weeks
Scale for the Assessment of Negative Symptoms (SANS)
Tidsramme: From enrollment to the end of treatment at 8 weeks
An instrument for measuring negative symptoms in schizophrenia. It assesses five symptom complexes to obtain clinical ratings of negative symptoms in participants with schizophrenia. They are: affective blunting; alogia (impoverished thinking); avolition/apathy; anhedonia/asociality; and disturbance of attention. Assessments are conducted on a six-point scale (0=not at all to 5=severe). Total score range from 0-110, higher scores indicating higher severity.
From enrollment to the end of treatment at 8 weeks
Calgary Depression Scale for Schizophrenia (CDSS)
Tidsramme: From enrollment to the end of treatment at 8 weeks
4-point Likert type scale (0, absent; 1, mild; 2, moderate; 3, severe) with nine items. It is a reliable scale, with high internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha = 0.855), and the CDSS is suitable for evaluating symptoms of depression in people at clinical high risk for psychosis Total score range from 0-27, higher scores indicating higher severity.
From enrollment to the end of treatment at 8 weeks
State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI)
Tidsramme: From enrollment to the end of treatment at 8 weeks
A psychological inventory consisting of 40 self-report items on a 4-point Likert scale. The STAI measures two types of anxiety - state anxiety and trait anxiety. Scores range from 20 to 80 for both state and trait anxiety, with higher scores indicating greater anxiety.
From enrollment to the end of treatment at 8 weeks
Borderline Symptom List (BSL-23)
Tidsramme: From enrollment to the end of treatment at 8 weeks
A well-established self-rating instrument to assess the severity of borderline typical psychopathology. The BSL-23 assesses 23 feelings and experiences typically reported by BPD patients, refers to the last week and has a range from 0 = 'not at all' to 4 = 'very strong. scores range from 0 to 92 with higher scores indicating greater symptom severity.
From enrollment to the end of treatment at 8 weeks
Difficulties in emotion regulation scale (DERS)
Tidsramme: From enrollment to the end of treatment at 8 weeks
A 36-item self-report measure of six facets of emotion regulation. Items are rated on a scale of 1 ("almost never [0-10%]") to 5 ("almost always [91-100%]"). Scores range from 36 to 180, with higher scores indicating greater symptom severity.
From enrollment to the end of treatment at 8 weeks
Global Functioning: Social and Role Scales
Tidsramme: From enrollment to the end of treatment at 8 weeks
Brief clinician-administered measures of social and role functioning, respectively, administered as a semi-structured interview with detailed anchors for ratings that address functional difficulties typically experienced by youth at risk for psychosis. Scores range from 1 to 10, with higher scores indicating greater functioning.
From enrollment to the end of treatment at 8 weeks
Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale (CD-RISC)
Tidsramme: From enrollment to the end of treatment at 8 weeks
A 25-item self-report rating scale designed to assess resilience, with higher scores being an indicator of high resilience. Each item is rated on a 5-point scale ranging from not true at all or zero to true nearly all the time or four. Scores range from 0 to 100, with higher scores indicating greater resilience.
From enrollment to the end of treatment at 8 weeks
Adolescent Alcohol and Drug Involvement Scale (AADIS)
Tidsramme: From enrollment to the end of treatment at 8 weeks
A clinician rated instrument which evaluates an adolescent's use of alcohol and other drugs. The score is calculated from a weighted sum of item ratings on a scale of 1-12, where higher scores indicate more serious levels of involvement.
From enrollment to the end of treatment at 8 weeks
Cannabis Use Disorders Identification Test-Revised (CUDIT-R)
Tidsramme: From enrollment to the end of treatment at 8 weeks
A self-report tool developed that aim to distinguish between different levels of cannabis use, cannabis use disorders and stage of change. It contains 8 items, two each from the domains of consumption, cannabis problems (abuse), dependence, and psychological features. score range 0-32, more indicating hazardous cannabis use and scores of 12 or more suggesting a possible cannabis use disorder
From enrollment to the end of treatment at 8 weeks
Columbia-Suicide Severity Rating Scale (C-SSRS)
Tidsramme: From enrollment to the end of treatment at 8 weeks
A semi-structured clinical interview that assesses suicidal ideation severity, suicidal ideation intensity, and suicidal behavior. intensity subscale (scored separately) that ranges from 0-25 by rating the frequency, duration, and controllability of ideation. Overall Score 0: No suicidal risk Score 1-2: Low risk; safety planning recommended as a best practice Score 3-6: Moderate to high risk; requires safety planning and close follow-up
From enrollment to the end of treatment at 8 weeks

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Sponsor

Studierekorddatoer

Disse datoene sporer fremdriften for innsending av studieposter og sammendragsresultater til ClinicalTrials.gov. Studieposter og rapporterte resultater gjennomgås av National Library of Medicine (NLM) for å sikre at de oppfyller spesifikke kvalitetskontrollstandarder før de legges ut på det offentlige nettstedet.

Studer hoveddatoer

Studiestart (Antatt)

15. september 2026

Primær fullføring (Antatt)

30. september 2027

Studiet fullført (Antatt)

30. desember 2027

Datoer for studieregistrering

Først innsendt

17. august 2026

Først innsendt som oppfylte QC-kriteriene

17. august 2026

Først lagt ut (Faktiske)

20. august 2026

Oppdateringer av studieposter

Sist oppdatering lagt ut (Faktiske)

16. september 2026

Siste oppdatering sendt inn som oppfylte QC-kriteriene

12. september 2026

Sist bekreftet

1. august 2026

Mer informasjon

Begreper knyttet til denne studien

Nøkkelord

Andre studie-ID-numre

  • 2026/060

Plan for individuelle deltakerdata (IPD)

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NEI

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Studerer et amerikansk FDA-regulert medikamentprodukt

Nei

Studerer et amerikansk FDA-regulert enhetsprodukt

Nei

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