Evaluating the feasibility, acceptability, and efficacy of a brief virtual dialectical behavioral therapy skills group for college students during COVID-19

ABSTRACT

College students have been facing a variety of challenges in the wake of the COVID-19 outbreak. The pandemic generated fear and led to a spectrum of psychological consequences (Liu et al., 2020) ranging from increased anxiety and depression to behavioral changes such as difficulty sleeping. The unprecedented COVID?19 crisis presents an imperative for telemental health interventions. Telemental health has been effective in treating anxiety and depressive symptoms (Brenes et al., 2015), and implementing telemental health can facilitate the delivery of counseling services to address students' pressing mental health concerns (Dorsey & Topol, 2020). Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT;Linehan, 1993) skills training is one evidence-based treatment which effectively targets behaviors associated with difficulties regulating emotions. As DBT aims to teach individuals more adaptive coping skills so that reliance on ineffective coping mechanisms is reduced, DBT provides a fitting model amenable to telehealth. DBT skills training has been implemented in college settings, however, the available research evaluating DBT skills when delivered in an entirely virtual format is scant. This study aimed to evaluate the feasibility, acceptability, and preliminary efficacy of an 8-week virtually delivered DBT skills training program for college students during COVID-19. The intent-to-treat sample included 111 college students between the ages of 18 and 54 years (77% identified as cisgender women;83% identified as White). Participants were randomly assigned to virtual DBT (n = 57) or a waitlist control condition (n = 54). Assessments were conducted at pretreatment, 4-, 8- and 12-week follow up. Results of the study indicate that the intervention was feasible to implement in a virtual platform as evidenced by the retention of 71.9% of participants enrolled and was considered largely acceptable to participants as measured by both quantitative acceptability ratings and qualitative data. The intervention did not demonstrate efficacy in reducing symptoms of depression but demonstrated efficacy at reducing symptoms of anxiety. The intervention prevented participants from getting more distressed as the semester progressed. While the intervention did not demonstrate efficacy in increasing DBT skills use, it was effective in decreasing dysfunctional coping skills. Findings suggest that DBT skills training may serve as a preventative measure in the development or worsening of mental health problems, and that the virtual delivery of DBT skills can enhance mental health outcomes among college students. Recommendations as to how to improve the delivery of virtual DBT are provided. Clinical implications and future avenues of research are discussed. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved)