DBT Skill Training for Autistic Adults With Difficulties in Emotion Regulation.
Trial statusRecruiting
Trial phaseNot applicable
Trial typeInterventional
Biological sexAll
Age18+
SponsorHelse Møre og Romsdal HF
About this trial
One in 44 has autism, 70% of them have additional mental health challenges. Currently, this patient population does not have access to effective treatment within specialist healthcare services and has struggled to benefit from standard treatments. The goal of this project is to increase access to treatment tailored to their challenges. We will investigate whether a treatment program with an adapted version of Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) is feasible, accepted, and perceived as useful for people with autism. The purpose of the treatment is to improve emotion regulation, function better in relationships, and avoid crises, thereby enhancing their ability to achieve personal goals, reduce suffering, and increase quality of life. Autism is a lifelong neurodevelopmental disorder, presenting with great variation and more widespread than previously thought. Difficulties with emotion regulation are a central challenge for many with autism. These difficulties often manifest as an inability to recognize, understand, and manage emotional responses, leading to destructive strategies, behaviors, and suffering. DBT is developed with a focus on emotion regulation and has shown good effects in other patient populations. The project can increase access to treatment for a patient population that currently stands without.
Eligibility criteria
This trial does not accept healthy volunteersQualifiers
Fit general inclusion criteria for the out- patient treatment at the clinic.
Have diagnosed autism, and pervasive difficulties in emotion regulation.
Speak Scandinavian (Norwegian, Danish and/or Swedish).
Manage to commit to participating in the DBT- skills training.
Disqualifiers
Have a clinically significant low linguistic functioning that hinders the patient in understanding and answering the questions on the self-report instruments.
Being actively psychotic.
Have a Body Mass Index (BMI) under 17.
Cognitive disability Intelliganve quotient (IQ) <85
Trial design
Design model
Single group
Treatments tested in this trial
DBT skills training adjusted to autistic needs
BehavioralAdjustments to fit the specific learning style of people with autism. Simplified skills - fewer words, ,more pictures, autism relevant examples. Hands- on training using props and role play. adjustments so sensory sensitivities.
Treatment groups
15 Participants
are divided into 1 treatment groupGroup A: Participate in DBT skills trainingExperimental treatment 1 intervention
Trial outcomes
Primary outcomes
1
Difficulties in emotion regulation scale (DERS) - 8
a shortened self-report instrument, developed from the original DERS-36 meant to measure difficulties in emotion regulation. The DERS-8 consists of 8 items prefaced with the phrase "When I'm upset," to provide respondents with a uniform context that elicits thinking about situations requiring regulation of negative emotion; answers to items likely to represent affect, thought, and actions in response to such situations. The scale offers a brief unidimensional measure of difficulties in emotion regulation for adolescents and adults. Higher scores indicate greater levels of difficulties in emotion regulation.
Time frame
From enrollment to the end of treatment at 28 weeks.2
participation in treatment
Dropout rate from DBT skills training, as well as the percentage of DBT-SUD skills sessions participated in, and the percentage completed homework.
Time frame
From enrollment to the end of treatment at 28 weeks.3
Dialectical Behavior Therapy- Ways of Coping Checklist (DBT-WCCL)
It is a 59 item self-rapport questionnaire that assesses both positive and negative methods of coping with stressful situations including problem-focus, seeking social support, blaming self, blaming others, wishful thinking, and avoidance as well as DBT skills use on 4-point likert scale: 0 = Never Used, 1= Rarely Used, 2= Sometimes Used, 3 = Regularly Used. The questionnaire is divided into 2 subscales: 1) DBT skills subscale that consists of Nine items represent emotion regulation skills, seven represent interpersonal effectiveness skills, five depict mindfulness skills, 19 represent crisis survival skills, two depict reality acceptance skills (0-114). and 2) Dysfunctional Coping Subscale that consist of 17 items referring to dysfunctional behavior in general along with items referring more specifically to blaming others (0-63).
Time frame
From enrollment to the end of treatment at 28 weeks.Secondary outcomes
1
Diary card
Tracking the change in two target behaviours and four target emotions and use of skills in the treatment period with a diary card.
Time frame
From enrollment to the end of treatment at 28 weeks.2
Qualitative interview guide - DBT skills training ASD
Qualitative interview focusing on the participants goals, hinders and resources, and how they experienced the treatment interventions in relation to achieving these goals.
Time frame
From enrollment to the end of treatment at 28 weeks.Sponsors and contacts
Click on the lead sponsor to view all of their trials.
Helse Møre og Romsdal HF
Lead sponsor
The Dam Foundation
Collaborator
Source ClinicalTrials.gov