Skip to main content
ABCT 2024 58th Annual Convention Main banner
Psychology Tools Ad
Final Program


Icon Legend
This session is not in your schedule.
This session is in your schedule. Click again to remove it.
Presentation Icons
Recorded Session
Recorded Session
Ticketed Session
Ticketed Session
Back
Evaluation ViewAttendees 1

Treatment - Other
Symposia

Symposium 05 - Increasing access to evidence-based psychotherapy to promote healthcare equity: Training, implementing, and adapting Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) in the real world

Friday, November 15, 2024
8:30 AM – 10:00 AM EST
Location: 401/402, Level 4, Downtown Marriott
CE: 1.5

Keywords: DBT (Dialectical Behavior Therapy), Implementation, Veterans
Level of Familiarity: All
Recommended Readings: DeCou, C., Comtois, K., Landes, S.J. (2019). Dialectical behavior therapy is effective for the treatment of suicidal behavior: A meta-analysis. Behavior Therapy, 50(1), 60-72. doi: 10.1016/j.beth.2018.03.009,  

Baumann, A.A., Shelton, R.C., Kumanyika, S., & Haire-Joshu, D. (2023). Advancing healthcare equity through dissemination and implementation science. Health Services Research, 58(Suppl. 3), 327-344. DOI: 10.1111/1475-6773.14175

,  

Harned, M.S., Ritschel, L.A., & Schmidt, S.C. (2021). Effects of workshop training in the Dialectical Behavior Therapy Prolonged Exposure protocol on clinician beliefs, adoption, and perceived clinical outcome. Journal of Traumatic Stress, 34, 427-439.

,  

Castro, F.G., Barrera, M., & Steiker, L.K.H. (2010). Issues and challenges in the design of culturally adapted evidence-based interventions. Annual Review of Clinical Psychology, 6, 213-239. doi: 10.1146/annurev-clinpsy-033109-132032.

,  

Implementation science can be used to reduce healthcare inequities by helping to deliver evidence-based psychotherapies (EBPs) to those who need them. In extending an EBP to a setting or population distinct from the EBP’s original efficacy sample or setting, clinicians and administrators may experience the ‘fidelity-adaptation dilemma’ (Castro et al., 2010): implement an EBP with fidelity, vs. adapt the EBP to reconcile any mismatch between the efficacy testing sample and setting and the current patient population or context. Regardless of whether and how fidelity or adaptation are prioritized in a given project, implementation science can guide the training of providers and the trialing of any adaptations that may improve an intervention’s fit or effectiveness in the new context, which may ultimately reduce healthcare inequities (Baumann et al., 2023).
This symposium presents several examples of fidelity and adaptation in implementing Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT), a well-supported treatment for reducing suicide behavior (DeCou, Comtois, & Landes, 2019). DBT has well-documented implementation determinants when implemented outside of its original context, including turnover of trained DBT providers (King et al., 2018). Dr. Sara Landes will present a national initiative to develop, refine, and implement a DBT training program within the VHA healthcare system. Drs. Frances Aunon and Suzanne Decker will present a VHA training program in DBT Skills Groups at VHA and its preliminary provider- and system-level impact. Dr. Lynn McFarr will present on clinical outcomes of clients treated by providers trained in a large urban county-wide DBT training that emphasized model fidelity. Considering adaptations, Drs. Suzanne Decker and Frances Aunon will present results of a systematic, implementation-science-guided scoping review on adaptations to comprehensive DBT when implemented with clients who are culturally distinct from the original treatment development samples. Dr. Emily Edwards will present specific adaptations made to DBT to treat veterans involved in the justice system and preliminary client outcome data. Finally, Dr. Melanie Harned will synthesize findings and identify next steps to improve access to DBT.

Learning Objectives:

At the end of this session, the learner will be able to:
  1. Describe the development of training programs to train mental health providers to implement DBT in real-world clinical settings
  2. Describe the implementation of training programs to train mental health providers to implement DBT in real-world clinical settings
  3. Identify provider-, system-, and client-level impacts of DBT provider training programs
  4. Describe adaptations made to DBT to support engagement for specific cultural groups
  5. Identify key barriers training programs have to overcome to continue DBT implementation in real-world settings.

Presentations:

  • 8:30 AM – 10:00 AM EST
    (SYM 5) Increasing Veteran Access to Dialectical Behavior Therapy: Providing DBT via Telehealth in Department of Veteran Affairs' Clinical Resource Hubs

    Speaker: Sara J. Landes, Ph.D. (she/her/hers) – US Department of Veterans Affairs

    Co-author: Meaghan Stacy, PhD – Department of Veterans Affairs

    Co-author: Melanie Harned, ABPP, Ph.D. (she/her/hers) – VA Puget Sound Health Care System

    Co-author: Meredity Seats, PhD – Department of Veterans Affairs

    Co-author: Catherine Flores, LCSW – Department of Veterans Affairs

    Co-author: Laura Meyers, PhD – Department Of Veterans Affairs

    Co-author: Trevor Coyle, PhD – Department Of Veterans Affairs

    Co-author: April (Dawn) Orr-Sherrill, LCSW – Department Of Veterans Affairs

    Co-author: Ciara Oliver, BS – Central Arkansas Veterans Healthcare System

    Co-author: Jeffery Pitcock, MPH – Central Arkansas Veterans Healthcare System

    Co-author: Jessica Walker, PhD – Department of Veterans Affairs

  • 8:30 AM – 10:00 AM EST
    (SYM 5) Clinical Impact of DBT Skills Group Training Within the Veterans Health Administration

    Speaker: Frances Aunon, Ph.D. (she/her/hers) – Connecticut VA Healthcare System

    Co-author: Sandy Rowlands, LCSW – Office of Mental Health and Suicide Prevention, VA Central Office

    Co-author: Cris White, PhD – Department of Veterans Affairs Institute for Learning, Education, and Development

    Co-author: Jennifer Strauss, PhD – Office of Mental Health and Suicide Prevention, VA Central Office

    Co-author: Heather Kacos, Psy.D. – Orlando VA Healthcare System, University of South Florida College of Medicine

    Co-author: Suzanne Decker, Ph.D. (she/her/hers) – VA Connecticut Healthcare System / Yale School of Medicine

  • 8:30 AM – 10:00 AM EST
    (SYM 5) The Los Angeles County Roll out of DBT (LACRODBT)

    Speaker: Lynn McFarr, Ph.D. – CBT California

    Co-author: Katherine Anne Comtois, M.P.H., Ph.D. – University of Washington School of Medicine

    Co-author: Alex King, PhD – CBT California

  • 8:30 AM – 10:00 AM EST
    (SYM 5) Adaptations to Comprehensive DBT When Implemented with a Patient Population Defined by Cultural Identities

    Speaker: Suzanne Decker, Ph.D. (she/her/hers) – VA Connecticut Healthcare System / Yale School of Medicine

    Co-author: Frances Aunon, Ph.D. (she/her/hers) – Connecticut VA Healthcare System

    Co-author: Ethan Spana, B.S. – VA New Mexico Healthcare System

    Co-author: Neal Doran, Ph.D. – VA San Diego Healthcare System, University of California, San Diego

    Co-author: Jennifer K. Rielage, Ph.D. – VA New Mexico Healthcare System / University of New Mexico School of Medicine

    Co-author: Mark Honsberger, M.S. – VA Northeast Ohio Healthcare System

    Co-author: Josephine Ridley, Ph.D. – VA Northeast Ohio Healthcare System / Case Western Reserve University

    Co-author: Rachel Carretta, PhD – VA Hines Healthcare System

    Co-author: Heather Kacos, Psy.D. – Orlando VA Healthcare System, University of South Florida College of Medicine

    Co-author: Steve Martino, Ph.D. – VA Connecticut Healthcare System / Yale School of Medicine

    Co-author: Thorayya Said Giovannelli, PsyD – James A. Haley Veterans Hospital / University of South Florida Morsani School of Medicine

    Co-author: Jenny Bannister, Ph.D. – James A. Haley Veterans Hospital / University of South Florida Morsani College of Medicine

    Co-author: Noah R. Wolkowicz, Ph.D. – Psychology Service, VA Connecticut Health Care System; Department of Psychiatry, Yale School of Medicine

    Co-author: Addie Merians, Ph.D. – Psychology Service, VA Connecticut Health Care System; Department of Psychiatry, Yale School of Medicine

    Co-author: Brittany Howell, Psy.D. – James A. Haley Veterans Hospital, University of South Florida College of Medicine

    Co-author: Jason G. Smith, Other – VA Boston Healthcare System

  • 8:30 AM – 10:00 AM EST
    (SYM 5) Adapting DBT for Veterans with Criminal-legal Involvement

    Speaker: Emily R. Edwards, Ph.D. (she/her/hers) – US Department of Veterans Affairs

    Co-author: Ryan Holliday, PhD (he/him/his) – US Department of Veterans Affairs

    Co-author: Sharon Alter, MA (she/her/hers) – US Department of Veterans Affairs

    Co-author: Suzanne Thomas, MA (she/her/hers) – US Department of Veterans Affairs

Back to Top