Family Intervention Model

The second evidenced based family intervention model that is applicable to this problem is Dialectical Behavior. Dialectical Behavior or DBT is another extension of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy. Developed in the late 1980’s through psychologist Marsha M. Linehan its development sought to be a better treatment modality to treat individuals present with borderline personalities. With DBT being able to be utilized in a variety of mental health settings it is a great modality for individuals and families that present severe mental health issues, post-traumatic stress and even addictions. DBT incorporates the following five components throughout its treatment:
1. Capability enhancement: DBT provides opportunities for the development of existing skills. An example of this would be emotion regulation. “Regulation of emotion is the ability to respond to the ongoing demands of experience with the range of emotions in a manner that is socially tolerable and sufficiently flexible”
2. Generalization: Individuals in therapy learn how to apply the skills they have learned at home, at school, at work, and in the community. An example would be the client speaking about a conflict while using emotion regulation skills
“A controlled trial conducted in an inpatient setting found that patients who received three months of DBT improved at a greater rate than those who received treatment as usual” (Chapman, 2006). Researchers also found that one year of DBT decreased the instances of self-harming behaviors, were half as likely to attempt suicide, had less psychiatric hospitalizations, and were less likely to drop out of treatment. Limitations include: small sample sizes with a focus on a specific mental health population, so effective treatments among varied populations of youth is still a deciding