Testing an Alliance-Focused Dialectical Behaviour Therapy Training for Borderline Personality Disorder

Condition(s) studied

Investigational drug(s) / intervention(s)

Alliance-Focused Dialectical Behavior Therapy plus Deliberate Practice: The alliance-focused DBT training plus deliberate practice is a 4-session weekly intervention delivered to therapists working with individuals with borderline personality disorder or emotion dysregulation. This training intervention involves a didactic component, video analysis, and case-based learning. Deliberate practice methods (e.g., setting individualized training goals, skills coaching, feedback, and opportunities for repeated practice) will be integrated both within and between training sessions.

Alliance-Focused Dialectical Behavior Therapy plus Reflective Practice: The alliance-focused DBT training plus reflective practice is a 4-session weekly intervention delivered to therapists working with individuals with borderline personality disorder or emotion dysregulation. Trainings will involve a didactic component, video analysis, and case-based learning. Reflective practice methods (i.e., thinking about past experiences to gain insight for future actions) will be integrated both within and between training sessions.

Study summary

The study evaluates the feasibility, acceptability, and effect sizes of two alliance-focused dialectical behavior therapy (DBT) training interventions to improve therapists' abilities to recognize and respond to alliance ruptures with clients with borderline personality disorder (BPD). Participants will be randomly assigned to receive either a 4-week training as usual (TAU), which include didactic training plus reflective practice (i.e., thinking about past actions to gain insight for future actions) or a 4-week didactic training plus deliberate practice training (i.e., setting individualized training goals, skills coaching, and opportunities for repeated practice with expert feedback). A pre-post design will be used to assess effect sizes for change in participants' abilities to recognize and respond to alliance ruptures. Therapist characteristics will be assessed to determine moderating effects on training outcome. Feasibility and acceptability of the training intervention will be assessed following the trainings.

Eligibility

Primary outcome measure(s)

• Facilitative Interpersonal Skills Task (FIS) — Administered at baseline (pre-intervention) and at 4 weeks (post-intervention).
  An 8-item video vignette task used to assess ability to respond effectively to challenging client interactions in therapy. Scores range from 56 to 280, with higher scores reflecting higher levels of facilitative interpersonal skills.

Trial sites (1)

More York University trials in Canada

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