Dialectical Behavioral Therapy in Juvenile Justice

DBT is an evidence-based treatment for individuals with complex clinical presentations, including borderline personality disorder (BPD), suicidality, and NSSI. Standard DBT (which includes individual therapy, skills group, between-session skills coaching, and peer consultation for therapists) is associated with symptom reductions in patients across a variety of domains, including BPD symptoms, SA, NSSI, hospitalizations, and social functioning. DBT focuses on teaching skills (e.g., emotion regulation) and facilitating the replacement of impulsive and/or ineffective behaviors (e.g., NSSI), with more effective/skillful behaviors.