Adapted Dialectical Behaviour Therapy for Adolescents With Deliberate Self-Harm: A Pre-post Observational Study

Adapted Dialectical Behaviour Therapy for Adolescents With Deliberate Self-Harm: A Pre-post Observational Study

The investigators conducted a pre-post naturalistic study regarding changes observed associated with a 15-week course of an adapted form of dialectical behaviour therapy for adolescents. We measured frequency of self-harm prior to treatment and after treatment using the Self-Injurious Thoughts and Behaviors Interview. We also measured changes using the Suicide Ideation Questionnaire, Life Problems Inventory, Resiliency Scale for Children and Adolescents.

Inclusion Criteria:

• features of Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) and recent history of self-injurious thoughts or behaviours.

  1. meeting criteria for BPD or for subsyndromal variants of BPD, and (2) self-injurious thoughts and behaviours defined as: (a) a score > 30 on the Suicidal Ideation Questionnaire (SIQ) OR (b) Deliberate Self-harm in the 4 months prior to treatment

Exclusion Criteria:

• severe substance use (where residential treatment would be indicated), florid psychosis and developmental delay