USE OF DIALECTICAL BEHAVIOR-THERAPY IN A PARTIAL HOSPITAL PROGRAM FORWOMEN WITH BORDERLINE PERSONALITY-DISORDER

Dialectical behavior therapy, an outpatient psychosocial treatment for chronically suicidal women with borderline personality disorder; has been adapted for use in a partial hospital program for women. Patients attend the program for a minimum of five days of individual and group therapy and full census is 12 women. About 65 percent of participants meet at least three criteria for borderline personality disorder, and most have suicidal and self-injurious behavior Their comorbid diagnos es include trauma-related diagnoses and anxiety disorders, severe eati ng disorders, substance abuse, and depression. The partial hospital pr ogram is linked to an aftercare program offering six months of outpati ent skills training based on dialectical behavior therapy Both program s focus on teaching patients four skills: mindfulness (attention to on e's experience), interpersonal effectiveness, emotional regulation, an d distress tolerance. Two years of operation of the women's partial ho spital program provides promising anecdotal evidence that dialectical behavioral therapy, an outpatient approach, can be effectively modifie d for partial hospital settings and a more diverse population.