Skip to main content
OpenTrials
Completed

NCT Number: NCT03123198

Dialectical Behavior Therapy Rutgers University Research Program

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.

Completed

Looking for future studies?

Notify Me

Key information

Conditions

Borderline Personality Disorder Mental Disorders Personality Disorders

Age range

18 year and older

Sex eligibility

All sexes

Study type

Interventional

Phase

Not applicable

Primary location

Rutgers University

Piscataway, New Jersey, 08854, United States

About this study

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).

Who can participate

Healthy volunteers accepted: No

Only the study team can determine whether someone qualifies for participation.

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.

Treatment and study plan

Dialectical behavior therapy

Behavioral

DBT is a multimodal comprehensive psychosocial treatment.

Primary outcomes

  1. Self-Injurious Thoughts and Behaviors Interview

    Time frame: Past six months

    Interview to assess prevalence rates of suicidal and self-injurious thoughts and behaviors

  2. Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-5

    Time frame: At baseline, lifetime history is assessed. At 3-months and 6-months, changes to diagnostic status are assessed.

    Interview to assess lifetime and current rates of psychological disorders

Secondary outcomes

  1. Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale

    Time frame: Past two weeks

  2. Borderline Symptom List (BSL-23)

    Time frame: Past 1 month

  3. Brief Symptom Inventory (BSI)

    Time frame: Past 1 week

Sponsors and collaborators

Lead sponsor

Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey

Other

Registry information

Acronym: DBT-RU

Important dates

Study start
2010
Primary completion
2023
Study completion
2023
First posted
Apr 21, 2017
Registry last updated
Jul 30, 2024

OpenTrials presents study information sourced from ClinicalTrials.gov. The official registry record should be consulted for the latest information.

View the official ClinicalTrials.gov record (opens in a new tab)

This listing is for discovery and informational purposes only. It is not medical advice, does not guarantee that a study is recruiting, and does not determine eligibility. Contact the study team and a qualified healthcare professional when considering participation.

Related clinical trials

Published trials that share one or more normalized conditions with this study.