Implementing a Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) Graduate Group to Improve Knowledge of DBT Skills

Problem. Patients with borderline personality disorder (BPD) struggle to strengthen and generalize coping skills after completing a 7-month dialectical behavior therapy (DBT) skills group. A formal process addressing how to increase knowledge of DBT skills after completing this group is lacking. Methods. This project implemented an 8-week DBT graduate group to determine whether it resulted in increased knowledge of DBT skills. Participants (n=10) included individuals who had previously completed a 7-month DBT skills group. A pre-survey was administered before the first meeting, and a post-survey was collected at the conclusion of the final meeting. Both surveys consisted of the same ten questions concerning DBT skills, and the post-survey also included three open ended questions exploring each member's experience with group. Results. A total of 100% (n=10) of participants completed the pre-survey assessing current knowledge of DBT skills, whereas 90% (n=9) of participants attended the weekly group sessions and completed the post-survey. A Wilcoxon Signed Rank Test compared pre- and post-survey results and showed a significance level of 0.456, which is not statistically significant at p < 0.05. All participants valued the group's emphasis on reviewing skills and 66% (n=6) appreciated being responsible for reviewing skills instead of the group facilitators. Approximately 44% (n=4) appreciated learning from the personal insights and experiences of their peers. Conclusions. While an 8-week DBT graduate group was not statistically significant at improving knowledge of DBT skills, it is likely clinically significant. When the risk of not using DBT skills for patients diagnosed with BPD can result in self-harm and potentially suicide, increasing the knowledge of skills for even one group member is invaluable.