Enhanced Dialectical Behavior Therapy for Adolescents

NCT07256496 | Completed

• 1 other identifier: Pro00078098
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 47
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 1

Brief Summary

Suicide is a leading cause of death and significant concerns for adolescents and young adults. Dialectical Behavior Therapy for Adolescents (DBT-A) is an evidence-based intervention that effectively reduces life-threatening behaviors. Limited research examines the impact of adding individualized skills coaching sessions (ISCS) to the DBT-A model, a novel intervention referred to in this paper as "Enhanced DBT-A". This study evaluates the effectiveness of Enhanced DBT-A in reducing suicidality over 1 year of treatment in an outpatient and intensive outpatient setting.

Conditions

Suicidality

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (3)

• Reasons for Living Inventory for Adolescents (RFL-A)

  The Reasons for Living Inventory for Adolescents (RFL-A; Osman et al, 1998) is a 32-item self-report questionnaire that assesses adaptive reasons that may prevent an adolescent from engaging in life-threatening behavior.

  1 year

• PHQ-9

  The current study administered the PHQ-9 to participants 18 years and older. The PHQ-9 (Kroenke et al, 2001) is a widely-used and psychometrically-robust self-report measure used to assess the prevalence of depressive symptoms in adults during a two-week period.

  1 year

• Columbia-Suicide Severity Rating Scale - Self Report Screener - Recent (C-SSRS).

  To capture the severity and intensity of participants' SI and their corresponding suicide risk, we used items from the Columbia-Suicide Severity Rating Scale - Screen Version - Recent (C-SSRS; Posner et al, 2011).

  1 year

Study Arms (1)

Enhanced DBT-A Group

EXPERIMENTAL

Participants engaged in Enhanced DBT-A services, including individual therapy, group skills training, phone coaching, and ISCS. Participants completed assessment batteries at intake, 6 months, and 1 year, and the outcome measures assessed participants' severity and intensity of suicidal ideation (SI), reasons for living, and depressive symptoms.

Behavioral: Enhanced DBT-A

Interventions

Enhanced DBT-A BEHAVIORAL

Participants engaged in Enhanced DBT-A services, including individual therapy, group skills training, phone coaching, and ISCS. Participants completed assessment batteries at intake, 6 months, and 1 year, and the outcome measures assessed participants' severity and intensity of suicidal ideation (SI), reasons for living, and depressive symptoms.

Enhanced DBT-A Group

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 13 Years - 25 Years
• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: No
• Age Groups: Child (0-17), Adult (18-64)

You may qualify if:

• appropriateness for Stage 1 DBT, completion of all assessments within the designated timeframe, a non-zero score on the Columbia-Suicide Severity Rating Scale (C-SSRS) at intake, and participation in at least one ISCS between intake and 1 year from the first individual therapy session.

You may not qualify if:

• presenting with active psychosis, a primary diagnosis of substance use, who did not consent to data collection, or who had a zero score on the C-SSRS at intake

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Compass Behavioral Health: lead

Study Sites (1)

Compass Behavioral Health

Tustin, California, 92780, United States

Location

MeSH Terms

Conditions

Suicidal Ideation

Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Suicide; Self-Injurious Behavior; Behavioral Symptoms; Behavior

Study Design

• Study Type: interventional
• Phase: not applicable
• Allocation: NA
• Masking: NONE
• Purpose: TREATMENT
• Intervention Model: SINGLE GROUP
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
• PI Title: Associate Director of Research

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: November 20, 2025
• First Posted: December 1, 2025
• Study Start: October 17, 2014
• Primary Completion: August 26, 2022
• Study Completion: August 26, 2022
• Last Updated: December 1, 2025

Record last verified: 2025-11

Data Sharing

• IPD Sharing: Will not share

Locations

US (1)