Beyond Borderline Personality Disorder: Dialectical Behavior Therapy in a College Counseling Center

Abstract

The study investigated the efficacy of a dialectical behavior therapy (DBT) program with a general college counseling center population, not limited to students diagnosed with borderline personality disorder. A review of records of 64 students found that obsessive-compulsive symptoms, interpersonal sensitivity, depression, anxiety, paranoia, somatization, psychoticism, and phobic anxiety decreased, as did overall distress. All four target areas of DBT, namely confusion about self, impulsivity, emotional dysregulation, and interpersonal chaos, also significantly decreased. Limitations and implications for college counseling centers are discussed.

KEYWORDS:

• college counseling center
• coping skills
• dialectical behavior therapy

ACKNOWLEDGMENT

We thank Dr. Sharon Mitchell for her support of the DBT program and our training as well as her comments on an earlier draft.