Category: Treatment - DBT

Panel Discussion

Panel Discussion 16 - DBT in College Counseling Centers

Keywords: DBT (Dialectical Behavior Therapy) | College Students
Presentation Type: Panel Discussion

Panelist(s)

• AU

  Amanda Uliaszek, Ph.D.

  University of Toronto

  Nothing to disclose
• CC

  Carla Chugani, Ph.D.

  University of Pittsburgh, Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh of UPMC

  Behavioral Tech, LLC: Consultant/Advisory Board
• JP

  Jacqueline Pistorello, Ph.D.

  University of Nevada, Reno Counseling Services

  Contextual Change LLC: Ownership Interest includes stock, stock options, patent or other intellectual property, Research Grant includes principal investigator, collaborator or consultant and pending grants as well as grants already received
  Praxis/New Harbinger Publications: Consultant/Advisory Board, Speaker/Honoraria includes speakers bureau, symposia, and expert witness
• TG

  Tina Goldstein, Ph.D.

  Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center

  AFSP: Research Grant includes principal investigator, collaborator or consultant and pending grants as well as grants already received
  Brain and Behavior Foundation: Research Grant includes principal investigator, collaborator or consultant and pending grants as well as grants already received
  Guilford Press: Royalties
  NIMH: Research Grant includes principal investigator, collaborator or consultant and pending grants as well as grants already received
• MM

  Monicah Muhomba, Ph.D.

  Vanderbilt University

  Nothing to disclose

Moderator(s)

• JM

  Jim Mazza, Ph.D.

  University of Washington

  Mazza Consulting: royalties

College counseling centers (CCCs) constitute a diverse treatment context in terms of developmental period (emerging adulthood), treated and symptom presentation, as well as ethnic, racial, disability, and sexually diverse client populations. Large scale surveys and longitudinal research focused on this setting have noted a steady increase in the number of students seeking treatment, an increase in the severity of psychological symptoms (e.g., suicidality, self-harm), and an increase in counselor stress (e.g., ACHA, 2015; CUCCA, 2006; Smith et al., 2007). CCC clinicians are tasked with treating this increasingly severe, diagnostically and culturally heterogeneous population within the time- and cost-limitations of the CCC setting. Given this, a current primary focus is to increase evidence-based practice in the CCC, with a renewed focus on cognitive-behavioral therapies in a setting that has historically relied more on humanistic and interpersonal approaches. Dialectical behavior therapy (DBT; Linehan, 1993) is an evidence-based cognitive-behavioral treatment originally created to treat chronically suicidal patients and borderline personality disorder. However, an increasing body of research supports DBT as a transdiagnostic treatment for emotion dysregulation, with recent research focusing on the applicability of DBT in various forms for use in CCCs. This panel discussion brings together DBT researchers with expertise in transition to college for emerging adults with serious mental health problems, implementation of DBT in CCCs, and the application and outcomes of comprehensive and adapted/brief DBT treatment programs to review the current and future role of DBT in CCCs. Panelists will discuss a) the effectiveness of DBT skills group as a stand-alone treatment in CCCs, b) other models of DBT implementation and adaptive treatment strategies that allow treatment of suicidal college students to be personalized depending on the student's response to treatment, c) the role of research in further implementation of DBT in CCCs, and d) potential mechanisms for DBT treatment outcome in this population.

Learning Objectives:

• Review research on DBT in CCCs, focusing on different disorders, study designs, and protocols completed by the panelists.
• Discuss possible implementation and dissemination strategies to increase DBT in CCCs, including those relevant to diversity.
• Provide information regarding moderators and mediators of treatment to illustrate for whom DBT might work best and why.