Treating the sequelae of interpersonal violence during childhood and adolescence

Dialectical behavior therapy for complex posttraumatic stress disorder (DBT-PTSD) was specifically tailored to treat adult PTSD following interpersonal violence such as childhood sexual abuse, including patients with borderline personality disorder (BPD). Most of these patients show severe problems in emotion regulation, self-concept, memory-processing, and social interaction. Therefore, DBT-PTSD merges evidence-based modules to target these core domains: DBT principles; trauma-specific cognitive and exposure based techniques; compassion focused interventions; and behavior change concepts. Treatment focus is based on a DBT-specific algorithm. The treatment can be applied under residential (12 weeks) and outpatient conditions (40 sessions). Both formats have been evaluated within large controlled randomized trials and have shown significant superiority to treatment as usual or other established trauma-treatments (CPT) with large effect sizes. The treatment has specifically shown that even severe cases with ongoing self-harm and high dissociative states can be treated safely and sufficiently (Bohus et al. Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, (2013) 22;82 (4):221-233.; Bohus et al., in prep; Krueger et al. Behavior Research and Therapy (2014) 61: 136-141).