Commitment and Motivation in a Brief DBT Intervention for Self Harm

NCT02354183 | Completed

• 1 other identifier: 070/2013
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 39
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 1

Brief Summary

Research suggests that individuals with Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) experience low motivation for change (Skodal, Buckley, \& Charles, 1983). Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT; Linehan, 1993) includes commitment strategies that are designed to improve motivation. No studies have examined the effectiveness of these strategies. The proposed study will evaluate the efficacy of a brief DBT intervention consisting of commitment strategies plus skills training for people who self-harm. Participants will be randomly assigned to either a single orientation session of (1) commitment strategies plus psychoeducation or (2) psychoeducation. Immediately following their orientation session, all participants will be enrolled in a 90 minute group skills training session. Primary outcomes include autonomous motivation and frequency of self harm behaviours. Assessments will be conducted at six time points: baseline, after the initial orientation session, after the skills training group session, and at one week, one month, and three month follow-up

Conditions

Psychological Orientation; Acceptance Processes

Keywords

Commitment strategies; Motivation; DBT skills; Self-harm; Brief intervention

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (1)

• Change in Autonomous and Controlled Motivation

  Autonomous and controlled motivation will be assessed using the Autonomous and Controlled Motivation for Treatment Questionnaire (Zuroff et al., 2005).

  From baseline until 3 months following the completion of the 1-day intervention (i.e., average of 3 months)

Secondary Outcomes (1)

• Change in Frequency and severity of self-harm behaviour

  From baseline until 3 months following the completion of the 1-day intervention (i.e., average of 3 months)

Study Arms (2)

Commitment

EXPERIMENTAL

A 1-hour orientation session consisting of DBT commitment strategies plus psychoeducation. Therapists will also use commitment strategies to discuss goals related to self-harm. The psychoeducation will consist of information about DBT's biosocial theory and about why people self-harm. All participants will complete a DBT skills training group after their orientation.

Behavioral: DBT Skills Training

Psychoeducation

ACTIVE COMPARATOR

A 1-hour orientation session consisting of psychoeducation only. The psychoeducation will consist of information about DBT's biosocial theory and about why people self-harm. All participants will complete a DBT skills training group after their orientation.

Behavioral: DBT Skills Training

Interventions

DBT Skills Training BEHAVIORAL

Based on Linehan's (1993) manualized DBT approach, the brief DBT skills training group covers will cover five skills: wise mind, TIP skills, distraction, mindfulness of the current emotion, and opposite to emotion action.

Commitment; Psychoeducation

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 18 Years - 80 Years
• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: No
• Age Groups: Adult (18-64), Older Adult (65+)

You may qualify if:

• Has a valid health card issued by a Canadian province or Canadian student organization (ie: UHIP)
• Has had at least 3 self-harm episodes (either suicidal or non-suicidal) in the past 5 years, including at least 1 in the past eight weeks
• Is literate in English
• Absence of 4 or more formal weeks of DBT in the past year (individual or group therapy components)
• Indicates absence of knowledge of the DBT Skills
• Is able to attend all sessions on scheduled study day

You may not qualify if:

• \) Evidence of organic brain syndrome or mental retardation

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Centre for Addiction and Mental Health: lead

Study Sites (1)

Centre for Addiction and Mental Health

Toronto, Ontario, M5S 2S1, Canada

Location

Related Publications (1)

• Witt KG, Hetrick SE, Rajaram G, Hazell P, Taylor Salisbury TL, Townsend E, Hawton K. Psychosocial interventions for self-harm in adults. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2021 Apr 22;4(4):CD013668. doi: 10.1002/14651858.CD013668.pub2.

  PMID: 33884617 DERIVED

Related Links

• Information about research at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, Canada's largest mental health and addiction teaching hospital, fully affiliated with the University of Toronto, and a PAHO/WHO Collaborating Centre

MeSH Terms

Conditions

Orientation, Spatial; Behavior; Self-Injurious Behavior

Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Spatial Behavior; Behavioral Symptoms

Study Officials

• Michelle Leybman, PhD

  Centre for Addiction and Mental Health

  PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

Study Design

• Study Type: interventional
• Phase: not applicable
• Allocation: RANDOMIZED
• Masking: SINGLE
• Who Masked: PARTICIPANT
• Purpose: TREATMENT
• Intervention Model: PARALLEL
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
• PI Title: Clinical Psychologist

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: December 10, 2014
• First Posted: February 3, 2015
• Study Start: April 1, 2015
• Primary Completion: April 1, 2016
• Study Completion: April 1, 2016
• Last Updated: February 10, 2017

Record last verified: 2017-02

Data Sharing

• IPD Sharing: Will not share

Locations

CA (1)