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Symposium

Interventions and Care Delivery Models in the Context of Resource Limitations
Symposium

Symposium 13 - Health for All: Adapting DBT Skills for Intellectual Disability, Autism, BPD Families, and Self-Help

Thursday, June 25, 2026
2:00 PM - 3:30 PM PDT
Location: Yerba Buena Salon 1, B3 Level
CE: 1.5

Keywords: DBT (Dialectical Behavior Therapy), Autism Spectrum Disorders , Group Therapy
Level of Familiarity: Basic to Moderate
Recommended Readings: Weiner, L., Bemmouna, D., Costache, M. E., & Martz, E. (2025). Dialectical Behavior Therapy in Autism. Current psychiatry reports, 27(5), 307–318. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11920-025-01596-7,   McNair, L., Woodrow, C., & Hare, D. (2017). Dialectical Behaviour Therapy [DBT] with People with Intellectual Disabilities: A Systematic Review and Narrative Analysis. Journal of applied research in intellectual disabilities : JARID, 30(5), 787–804. https://doi.org/10.1111/jar.12277,   Flynn, D., Kells, M., Joyce, M., Corcoran, P., Herley, S., Suarez, C., ... & Groeger, J. (2017). Family Connections versus optimised treatment-as-usual for family members of individuals with borderline personality disorder: non-randomised controlled study. Borderline Personality Disorder and Emotion Dysregulation, 4(1), 18.,   Whiteside, U., Richards, J., Huh, D., Hidalgo, R., Nordhauser, R., Wong, A. J., ... & Lezine, D. (2019). Development and evaluation of a web-based resource for suicidal thoughts: NowMattersNow. org. Journal of Medical Internet Research, 21(5), e13183.,  

This symposium highlights innovative approaches to expanding the accessibility, equity, and reach of Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) across diverse and underserved populations and practice settings. Presentations describe collaborative and community-engaged efforts to adapt, digitize, and extend DBT beyond its original applications for borderline personality disorder (BPD), emphasizing real-world implementation barriers and sustainable solutions. Collectively, presenters address how DBT’s core components—mindfulness, distress tolerance, emotion regulation, and interpersonal effectiveness—can be tailored for individuals with neurodevelopmental conditions, families supporting those with BPD, and transdiagnostic populations engaged in self-directed or technology-delivered interventions.
The first presentation, Adapting DBT Skills Groups for Adults with Intellectual Disability, Autism, and Challenging Behaviors, reports on an adapted DBT-informed group program within Québec’s public health system for adults with ID/ASD. Through visual supports, simplified language, and caregiver inclusion, the program demonstrates how DBT’s evidence-based modules can be modified for cognitive accessibility while maintaining therapeutic fidelity.
The second presentation, Family Connections: A Program for Relatives of Persons with Borderline Personality Disorder, examines the adaptation of DBT skills training for family members. Evidence shows that Family Connections reduces caregiver burden, depression, and grief while improving coping and understanding of emotion dysregulation. Presenters—including a clinician, family member, and individual with lived experience—illustrate the mutual benefits of skill diffusion within family systems.
The third presentation, Unguided or Minimally Guided DBT: A Scoping Review, synthesizes international evidence on self-help and low-intensity DBT delivery models (e.g., printed material, web-based, mobile, or messaging platforms). Findings indicate feasibility and efficacy signals for use in suicidality, binge eating, substance use, and transdiagnostic emotional distress. By lowering cost and training barriers, digital DBT interventions advance stepped-care approaches and equitable dissemination across high-need, low-resource populations.
Together, these presentations advance an inclusive vision of DBT’s evolution—spanning tailored group delivery, family-based adaptation, and technology-enabled scaling. The discussant will integrate insights across modalities to propose a framework for expanding DBT implementation guided by stakeholder engagement and evidence-informed adaptation principles.

Learning Objectives:

  • Identify key strategies for adapting DBT to meet the cognitive and communicative needs of neurodivergent adults.
  • Describe how family-based DBT programs reduce caregiver distress and strengthen support networks.
  • Discuss the emerging evidence base for self-guided and minimally guided DBT across diagnoses.
  • Compare models of DBT dissemination across in-person, community, and digital platforms.

Presentations:

  • 2:06 PM - 2:27 PM PDT
    (SYM 13) Adapting Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) Skills Groups for Adults with Intellectual Disability, Autism, and Challenging Behaviors

    Speaker: Jillian L. Mills, M.S. (she/her/hers) – CIUSSS de l'Est-de-l'Île-de-Montréal

    Co-Author: Jillian L. Mills, M.S. (she/her/hers) – CIUSSS de l'Est-de-l'Île-de-Montréal

    Co-Author: Lyne Taillefer, Ph.D. (she/her/hers) – CIUSSS de l'Est-de-l'Ile-de-Montreal

    Co-Author: Chloée Paquette Houde, M.D., M.Sc. (she/her/hers) – Université de Montréal, CIUSSS de l'Est-de-l'Ile-de-Montreal

  • 2:27 PM - 2:48 PM PDT
    (SYM 13) Family Connections: A Program for Relatives of Persons with Borderline Personality Disorder

    Speaker: Lynn Courey, B.A. (she/her/hers) – The Sashbear Foundation

  • 2:48 PM - 3:09 PM PDT
    (SYM 13) Unguided or Minimally Guided DBT: A Scoping Review

    Speaker: Amina Chekkal, M.D. (she/her/hers) – Université de Montréal