Pilot study of Dialectical Behaviour Therapy for adolescents with suicidal and self-injurious behaviour

This study looked at the feasibility of conducting a trial of dialectical behaviour therapy (DBT) for suicidal adolescents in New Zealand. We wanted to know whether patients and clinicians would accept random assignment rather than having a choice of treatment, how adolescents would cope with the research assessments, the impact of DBT, and how many participants would stay in treatment, and do the research assessments. Adolescents in DBT received more therapy and attended a higher proportion of scheduled sessions than those in usual care. All participants showed a reduction of self-injury and suicide attempts over time, but the slopes for adolescents in DBT were flatter than those in EUC, indicating that they took longer to recover. Conclusions: The slower drop in self harm for DBT differs from previous findings for both suicidal adolescents and adults receiving DBT. As this was a feasibility study with a small sample size, the finding may reflect a chance occurrence and should be interpreted with caution.