About » Vision and Mission
Vision
Compassionate and scientifically valid treatments for complex, severe and difficult-to-treat mental disorders developed, evaluated and made available for dissemination.
Mission
The BRTC develops and evaluates new treatments for difficult-to-treat individuals with severe and complex disorders of pervasive emotion dysregulation. The BRTC is particularly committed to developing effective treatments for those patients excluded from behavioral and medication clinical treatment trials due to high risk for suicide, the complexity of multiple co-occurring disorders and/or history of failure in previous clinical interventions.
The BRTC provides training at all levels to support both new and senior scientists to conduct research aimed at developing and evaluating treatments for these difficult-to-treat individuals. The BRTC is committed to working with undergraduate students to develop research interests and knowledge about working with difficult-to-treat patients, graduate students and post-doctoral fellows to develop the clinical and research skills necessary for this work, and senior scientists to provide support and encouragement in continuing to work with very difficult and high risk populations.
Current Work
Current research at the BRTC focuses on further development of Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT), a behavioral treatment developed by Dr. Linehan over the past 25 years. DBT synthesizes the rigorous technologies of change characteristic of Western treatment approaches with the practices of mindfulness and acceptance characteristic of Eastern approaches to treating mental suffering. DBT is now recognized nationally and internationally as the front-line treatment for Borderline Personality Disorder and as one of the few effective treatments for suicidal individuals. Our current studies consist of federally financed DBT clinical trials as well as more basic research on the effects of DBT on specific areas of brain functioning and emotion regulation. Our clinic is comprised of 20 to 25 undergraduates per academic quarter, five graduate students, four post-doctoral fellows, eight research therapists, 14 staff members, a research scientist, six affiliated faculty and Dr. Linehan, a full professor.
Research Focus
We believe that progress in understanding and developing effective treatments for complex, multi-systemic disorders requires h4, multi-disciplinary emphases on:
- Clinical phenomenology
- Behavioral experiments and evaluation of interventions
- Neurobiological markers
Future
We have develolped and rigorously evaluated Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT), currently viewed by many as the front-line treatment for Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD). In conjunction with Marie Institute of Behavioral Technology and it's wholly owned subsidary Behavioral Tech, LLC, we have disseminated DBT to thousands in the United States and throughout the world.
There is still the enormous suffering among those with BPD, however, including that of individuals who either did not benefit at all or did not benefit sufficiently from DBT. We cannot rest on our laurels. There is much work to be done. We have to be better than we are!
- Continue Treatment Development
- Develop Stage II DBT to treat the stage of unremitting "quiet desperation" once highly dysfunctional behaviors are in control
- Develop a protocol for treating Post-Traumatic Stress Disrder (PTSD) when it co-occurrs with BPD and suicidality
- Devlop DBT Program Accreditation and Therapist Certification Procedures
Provide a system for DBT quality assurance responsive to diverse stake-holders' interests and concerns. - Refine and Expand our Web-Based Data Management System for Multicenter Research Groups
Build in necessary sophistication to current web-based data management system.- Make current system user-friendly to investigators at diverse research centers
- Build in flexibility to collect diverse data sets relevant to treatment delivery and outcomes
- Create a Web-Based Data Management and Outcomes Analyses System for Community Mental Health (CMH)
Create an easy-to-use system for CMH staff to input outcome data and get time-sensitive feedback to guide treatment.
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