Effectiveness of Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT) Group Skills Training for Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) in Community Mental Health

Participants will attend a 25 week DBT skills training group led by two mental health clinicians (nursing and allied health). The group runs for two hours each week. The focus of the group is skills acquisition - it is not a 'process' group to discuss feelings or recent distressing episodes. Homework is required to assist in practising new skills and monitoring progress. The program consists of four components: Mindfulness skills assist in learning to focus attention on the present moment. Participants learn to observe and describe experiences, effectively and without judgement. Emotion Regulation focuses on skills to moderate emotions and have more effective emotional experiences. Participants are taught to understand and label emotional experiences, decrease vulnerability to emotional thinking, and overcome mood dependent actions. Distress Tolerance teaches participants to accept themselves, their emotions and the current situation, to survive crises and avoid harmful behaviour. Interpersonal Effectiveness focuses on interpersonal problem solving and effective communication, helping participants to maintain positive relationships and reduce overwhelming emotions. Participants are required to maintain minimum fortnightly contact with their individual case manager, to notify DBT facilitators if they are unable to attend, and to adhere to group rules about confidentiality and behaviour in group. Attendance is monitored using a registered of attendance.