What patients describe as helpful and difficult in DBT skills groups
Patient accounts emphasized safety, validation, peer support and putting skills into practice, alongside challenges before and during therapy.
Based on the published abstract. The full paper may contain additional methods, results and limitations.
The 30-second takeaway
This review examined how patients experienced dialectical behaviour therapy skills groups, including what they felt helped change happen. Accounts emphasized feeling safe and understood, learning through relationships, and applying skills beyond theory. The findings describe perceived processes and needs; they do not measure how effective these groups are compared with other treatments.
Qualitative experiences cannot establish comparative treatment effectiveness. The abstract does not describe participant numbers, the balance of diagnoses or ages, or how consistently individual themes appeared across studies.
Experiences across the therapy journey
Researchers organized accounts around reaching therapy, working through it and looking ahead. The synthesis included difficulty translating ideas into action, changes in relationships, and support that helped participants sustain change.
What patients valued
Safety, validation and peer support stood out in the authors' interpretation. Their recommendations favored flexible formats and attention to patient preferences, but the abstract does not show that any delivery format was superior.
The original publication
Transdiagnostic patient experiences of dialectical behavioural therapy: a systematic review and metasynthesis.
Hall A, Gregg L, O'Ceallaigh B et al.
Front Psychiatry · 2025
- PubMed ID
- 41122754
- Record checked
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