VA Puget Sound launched a comprehensive Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) Program this month designed to help Veterans who are at the highest risk for recurrent or chronic suicidality and emotional dysregulation. DBT is an evidenced-based, cognitive-behavioral therapy well-suited for treating the kinds of complex mental health challenges seen among Veteran populations. The goal is to effectively address a wide variety of distressing and challenging mental health symptoms and behaviors, improve long-term treatment efficacy, and free up health care resources.
Veterans have been able to attend DBT skills training groups since 2010 that teaches core mindfulness, interpersonal effectiveness, emotion regulation and distress tolerance skills, but a full DBT program includes DBT individual therapy, phone coaching and a therapist consultation team. VA mental health providers overwhelmingly asked for more DBT training for themselves and a more comprehensive program for their patients.
In response to that request and with approved funding, Samantha Yard, PhD, and Melanie Harned, PhD, held two all-day, system-wide trainings in October, 2018 and January, 2019. Over 75 staff members including psychiatrists, psychologists, social workers, and members of suicide prevention teams received an introduction to DBT as well as training in DBT. In addition, a three-day training was held for DBT Team members who will provide extensive DBT therapy for Veterans with repeated suicidal and/or self-harming behavior, borderline personality disorder, and have a high use of mental health services without substantial improvement.
Very few VA systems have this comprehensive of a DBT program and credit goes to Jesse Markman, MD, current acting ACOS for MHS, and David Ruskin, MD, (former ACOS for MHS) for supporting these efforts as well as DBT workgroup members Joe Robinson, LICSW, Jane Luterek, PhD, Sam Landrum, LICSW, Mark Conley, LICSW, Michelle Esterberg, PhD, and Mark Engstrom, PhD, for their years of advocacy for the program. Referrals to the Comprehensive DBT Program begin this month!
