Dialectical Behavior Therapy with Suicidal Adolescents

Alec L. Miller, PsyD, is Co-Founder and Clinical Director of Cognitive and Behavioral Consultants, White Plains and New York, New York, and Clinical Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Montefiore Medical Center/Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, New York. Dr. Miller served for over 20 years as Professor of Clinical Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Chief of Child and Adolescent Psychology, Director of the Adolescent Depression and Suicide Program, and Associate Director of Psychology Training at Montefiore Medical Center. He is a scientific advisor to the American Foundation of Suicide Prevention and the National Educational Alliance of Borderline Personality Disorder, a Fellow of the American Psychological Association, and past Chair of the International Society for the Improvement and Training of DBT. He has published numerous peer-reviewed journal articles, book chapters, and books on topics including DBT, adolescent suicide, childhood maltreatment, and borderline personality disorder. He is the coauthor of DBT Skills in Schools, DBT Skills Manual for Adolescents, and Dialectical Behavior Therapy with Suicidal Adolescents. He has conducted over 400 lectures and workshops around the world, training thousands of mental health professionals in DBT. Jill H. Rathus, PhD, is Professor of Psychology at Long Island University Post, where she directs the DBT scientist-practitioner training program within the clinical psychology doctoral program. She is also Co-Director and Co-Founder of Cognitive Behavioral Associates, a group private practice in Great Neck, New York, specializing in DBT and cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT). Her clinical and research interests include DBT, CBT, adolescent suicidality, intimate partner violence, anxiety disorders, and assessment. Dr. Rathus has developed and conducted programs in DBT for adolescents and adults as well as males referred for intimate partner violence, and has received foundation and university funding to study, adapt, and develop assessment tools for DBT. She has published numerous peer-reviewed articles and chapters on DBT, adolescent suicide, couple therapy, intimate partner violence, personality disorders, assessment, and anxiety disorders. She is the coauthor of books including DBT Skills in Schools, DBT Skills Manual for Adolescents, and Dialectical Behavior Therapy with Suicidal Adolescents. Marsha M. Linehan, PhD, ABPP, the developer of dialectical behavior therapy (DBT), is Professor Emeritus of Psychology and Director Emeritus of the Behavioral Research and Therapy Clinics at the University of Washington. Her primary research interest is in the development and evaluation of evidence-based treatments for populations with high suicide risk and multiple, severe mental disorders. Dr. Linehan's contributions to suicide research and clinical psychology research have been recognized with numerous awards, including the University of Louisville Grawemeyer Award for Psychology and the Career/Lifetime Achievement Award from the Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies. She is also a recipient of the Gold Medal Award for Life Achievement in the Application of Psychology from the American Psychological Foundation and the James McKeen Cattell Award from the Association for Psychological Science. In her honor, the American Association of Suicidology created the Marsha Linehan Award for Outstanding Research in the Treatment of Suicidal Behavior. She is a Zen master.

Foreword, Charles R. Swenson
Introduction
1. Suicidal Behaviors in Adolescents: Who Is Most at Risk?
2. What Do We Know about Effective Treatments for Suicidal Adolescents?
3. Dialectical Behavior Therapy: Treatment Stages, Primary Targets, and Strategies
4. DBT Program Structure: Functions and Modes
5. Dialectical Dilemmas for Adolescents: Addressing Secondary Targets
6. Assessing Adolescents: Suicide Risk, Diagnosis, and Treatment Feasibility
7. Orienting Adolescents and Families to Treatment and Obtaining Commitment
8. Individual Therapy with Adolescents
9. Including Families in Treatment
10. Skills Training with Adolescents
11. Assessing Progress, Running a Graduate Group, and Terminating Treatment
12. Program Issues
Appendix A. Mindfulness Exercises for Adolescents
Appendix B. Walking the Middle Path Skills: Lecture and Discussion Points
Appendix C. Handouts for Walking the Middle Path Skills