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ViewAttendees 4

Symposia

Program / Treatment Design

Increasing Access: DBT adaptations for novel populations and settings

3 - (SYM 38) Implementing DBT in College Counseling Centers: The Importance of Functionally Consistent Modification

Saturday, November 22, 2025
12:24 PM - 12:41 PM CST
Location: Imperial 12, Level 4
Keywords: DBT (Dialectical Behavior Therapy), Treatment/ Program Design, Borderline Personality Disorder
Recommended Readings: Haft, S. L., O'Grady, S. M., Shaller, E. A., & Liu, N. H. (2022). Cultural adaptations of dialectical behavior therapy: A systematic review. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 90(10), 787.,   Rizvi, S. L., Bitran, A. M., Oshin, L. A., Yin, Q., & Ruork, A. K. (2024). The state of the science: Dialectical behavior therapy. Behavior Therapy.,   Davis, S. M., & Jones, M. K. (2021). Black women at war: A comprehensive framework for research on the strong Black woman. Women's Studies in Communication, 44(3), 301-322.,   Aunon, F. M., Ingram, P., Wolkowicz, N., Martino, S., Kacos, H., Spana, E., ... & Decker, S. E. (2025). To Adopt or Adapt: A Scoping Review of Dialectical Behaviour Therapy With Patients With Minoritised Identity Constructs. Counselling and Psychotherapy Research, 25(1), e70000.,   Chugani, C. D., & Landes, S. J. (2016). Dialectical behavior therapy in college counseling centers: Current trends and barriers to implementation. Journal of College Student Psychotherapy, 30(3), 176-186.
Abstract Body

Increasing rates of anxiety, depression, non-suicidal self-injury, and suicidal behaviors among college students have led to a crisis in care among college mental health systems (Liu et al., 2019; Xiao et al., 2017). The need to address multi-problem presentations and effectively manage life-threatening behaviors may explain why implementation of some or all parts of Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) has become increasingly common among College Counseling Centers (CCC). However, despite the increase in need and case severity, CCCs are also chronically understaffed, leading to higher caseloads and fewer treatment sessions (Center for Collegiate Mental Health [CCMH], 2023). Unique attributes of CCCs (e.g., semester timeframe, scheduling constraints) can make them challenging settings for the implementation of DBT and some treatment modes (e.g., team consultation) are frequently not implemented (Chugani & Landes, 2016). In order to maintain treatment fidelity, modification of DBT should be conducted strategically, while continuing to meet the original functions of the treatment (Chugani & Landes, 2016). In this talk, we will discuss adaptations to full model DBT for college counseling centers (CC-DBT) that were made for a large-scale clinical trial. CC-DBT was informed by a feasibility trial in which we learned from our counseling center partners (clinicians and directors) to inform CC-DBT. Adaptations included: shorter timeframe to accommodate semester schedule, changes to orientation and commitment to accommodate the shortened timeframe, and creation of materials for clinicians that provided clear examples of strategies and "how tos". Implications of this study may help guide the implementation of DBT in other college counseling centers.