Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) is a multimodal, psychosocial treatment with demonstrated efficacy in treating borderline personality disorder (BPD). In Phase I, we developed and evaluated a pilot videotape of Marsha M. Linehan, Ph.D., teaching a DBT emotion regulation skill. Results demonstrated the videotape's efficacy at imparting skill information to BPD subjects. Additionally, three-quarters of the subjects applied the skill in the subsequent week, and reported significant decreases in distress after using the skill. The primary aim of this Phase II proposal is to extend our work by developing a set of four DBT skills training videos taught by Linehan and to evaluate their efficacy. We intend to conduct a randomized controlled trial with 60 BPD subjects, randomly assigned to either the DBT skills video condition or to a psychoeducation video control condition. Outcome measures will again assess knowledge gains and ability to apply the skills. We will also investigate use of these videotapes in naturalistic settings by collecting data on their use within existing DBT programs over a six-month period. As a therapy adjunct, these videos are an innovative approach to increasing the skills capability of BPD clients while facilitating the dissemination of an empirically supported treatment.
DBT is a widely used treatment and the skills training manual on which the proposed videotapes will be based is extremely popular. It is currently Guilford Press's best selling book, with 64,000 copies sold since it was first printed in 1993. Since its inception in 1997, the Behavioral Technology Transfer Group has provided over 93 community workshops in the U.S. and many others abroad. In 1999 alone, BTTG provided 40 introductory DBT workshops attended by over 4,566 individuals. Given the demand for DBT training materials, these videos are expected to sell widely to a variety of treatment centers, individual practitioners and to patients.
