(PS5-22) Implementing a Dialectical Behavior Therapy Skills Group in a Transgender Community Organization: Stakeholder Perspectives on Contextual Needs, Barriers, and Facilitators

Abstract Text:

Background: Transgender and nonbinary (TNB) individuals, particularly TNB people of color, face significant barriers to accessing mental healthcare. Chief among these barriers is a lack of access to quality care and associated mistrust of healthcare systems. In response, many TNB individuals of color turn to community-based organizations (CBOs) for support. Within New York City there are over 30 CBOs aimed at improving social support, health equity, and basic needs, run by and for the queer community. While CBOs provide accessible alternatives to mental health support, persistent disparities in mental health outcomes among TNB people highlight gaps in effective implementation of empirically supported treatments within community settings where TNB individuals can access care.

Purpose: This study uses a community-engaged dissemination and implementation science framework to partner with a Black, TNB-led CBO in New York City in exploring organizational and client characteristics that influence readiness and adoption of a community-implemented dialectical behavior therapy skills group.

Methods: Qualitative interviews were conducted with a community advisory board (N=7) to assess the acceptability, sustainability, and scalability of the dialectical behavior therapy skills group. The CAB consisted of the CBOs board of directors, its executive director, CBO partners, and CBO sponsors. An in-depth qualitative analysis of all interviews will be conducted using thematic analysis.

Results: Themes relating to community needs, system and individual level-barriers, and system and individual-level facilitators will be presented with illustrative quotes to elucidate thematic content.

Conclusions: Findings will inform the development of sustainable and scalable group mental health services within the partner CBO and serve as a model for future researcher-community collaborations aimed at improving access to empirically supported mental healthcare for TNB people of color and other marginalized communities more broadly.