The purpose of this dissertation is to explore the experiences and utilization of Certified Peer Support Specialists employed on Dialectical Behavior Therapy teams. Trends in the literature regarding peer support include the challenges faced by Peer Support Specialists, the benefits peers gained by employment, and solutions for ongoing peer program development. There is also an abundance of stu...

Societal cost-of-illness in a German sample of patients with borderline personality disorder (BPD) was calculated for 12 months prior to an outpatient Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) program, during a year of DBT in routine outpatient care and during a follow-up year. We retrospectively assessed resource consumption and productivity loss by means of a structured interview. Direct costs were ...

BACKGROUND Emotion dysregulation is a critical transdiagnostic mental health problem that needs to be further examined in personality disorders (PDs). The current study examined dialectical behavior therapy (DBT) skills use, emotion dysregulation, and dysfunctional coping among adults who endorsed symptoms of cluster B PDs and psychopathy. We hypothesized that skills taught in DBT and emotion d...

OBJECTIVE Suicidal behavior and self-harm are common in adolescents and are associated with elevated psychopathology, risk of suicide, and demand for clinical services. Despite recent advances in the understanding and treatment of self-harm and links between self-harm and suicide and risk of suicide attempt, progress in reducing suicide death rates has been elusive, with no substantive reductio...

BACKGROUND Anorexia Nervosa (AN) is a highly life-threatening disorder that is extremely difficult to treat. There is evidence that family-based therapies are effective for adolescent AN, but no treatment has been proven to be clearly effective for adult AN. The methodological challenges associated with studying the disorder have resulted in recommendations that new treatments undergo prelimina...

OBJECTIVE This study evaluates the efficacy of integrating PTSD treatment into Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) for women with borderline personality disorder, PTSD, and intentional self-injury. METHODS Participants were randomized to DBT (n=9) or DBT with the DBT Prolonged Exposure (DBT PE) protocol (n=17) and assessed at 4-month intervals during the treatment year and 3-months post-treatm...