Applications of dialectical behavior therapy to the treatment of complex trauma-related problems: when one case formulation does not fit all

Abstract

In this article, the authors take the perspective that effective treatment of complex trauma-related problems requires, in the absence of empirically supported treatments, a reliance on theory, idiographic assessment, and empirically supported principles of change. Dialectical behavior therapy (DBT; M. M. Linehan, 1993) is used to demonstrate the applicability of this approach to the treatment of multiproblem, heterogeneous populations in general. Two case studies are presented that highlight the utility of DBT principles to complex trauma-related problems specifically.