(PS13-87) DBT in an Intensive Outpatient Program and It’s Effects on PTSD Symptoms

Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) was founded by Marsha M. Linehan to treat people with borderline personality disorder and is an evidence-based psychotherapy. It is now well known to have significant effects in treating this disorder; however, it is only recently that psychologists have become curious as to how DBT may help treat PTSD symptoms. Therefore, this research serves to expand our knowledge of the effects of DBT in an intensive outpatient program on PSTD symptoms for patients attending a DBT intensive outpatient program. Data was collected from patient’s intake and discharge forms during 2023.

This study consisted of 86 patients attending an Intensive Outpatient Program (IOP) in Eastern North Carolina. Individuals completed intake assessments to allow the therapist to gain an understanding of the patient’s medical necessity for the program and were administered the same questions during discharge to measure the effectiveness of treatment. Included in these assessments were the Beck Hopeless Scale (BHS), the depression, anxiety, stress scale (DASS-21), and the PTSD Check List (PCL-5) to note clinical symptoms. This quasi-experimental study included intensive outpatient program attendees who attended a DBT-adherent IOP program. Patients met in person 3 times a week for 3 hours per session. DBT skills taught at these sessions include distress tolerance, interpersonal effectiveness, emotional regulation, and mindfulness. Individuals were also required to have weekly personal appointments with their therapist; during this time the focus fell on treatment goals. 
Researchers used the PCL-5 to examine the DSM-5 symptoms of PTSD that patients may be suffering from. There are four main criteria involved in diagnosing PTSD: B, C, D, and E. Criterion B is described as the persistent reexperience of the traumatic event, criterion C is expressed as the anxiety and flashbacks due to the traumatic event, criterion D is the negative feelings and thoughts of the individual following trauma, and criterion E is the actions such as destructive or reckless behavior the individual engages in following the event. After running analyses, results show that following the DBT-IOP treatment there were statistically significant decreases in all four of the PTSD symptoms (p< .0001) and overall PTSD scores. These results are promising in that they show that when DBT is delivered in an IOP setting it can help to reduce PTSD symptoms in patients. This could potentially offer synergistic effects to those who are also engaging in DBT-PE for PTSD, however, more research needs to be conducted.