Co-Producing DBT Intervention Protocols for LGBTQ+ People
Overview
Aims:
1. To co-produce new intervention parts that meet the needs of LGBTQ+ people at risk of self-harm or suicidal
thoughts, with LGBTQ+ people and DBT therapists. These intervention parts will be integrated into a Dialectical
Behaviour Therapy (DBT) intervention, that is provided earlier in a persons mental health care journey, than DBT is usually targeted at.
2. To assess how acceptable and feasible the co-production process was for participants, and how well it achieved
co-production principles (e.g. participants feel supported, that the aims were transparent, etc).
Why is This Important?
Young people who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and with other minoritised gender and sexual
identities (LGBTQ+) are much more likely to self-harm and experience suicidal thoughts than cisgender-heterosexual
(non-LGBTQ+) people. They also experience barriers when accessing mental health support. Some of these barriers
come from a lack of support tailored towards their needs as an LGBTQ+ person. This often means that things get
worse before they access the right support, and so are often seen in higher-intensity interventions (tier 4 or tertiary
care), like DBT.
What We Plan to Do:
We plan to hold some focus groups with three different groups of people to co-produce the new intervention parts. The
three groups include:
1. A group of LGBTQ+ young people (13-21 years old) who have completed a at full DBT programme recently.
2. A group of LGBTQ+ young people (13-21 years old) who have never been in a full DBT programme but experienced
similar difficulties.
3. A group of DBT therapists who have supported LGBTQ+ young people before.
We will seek feedback from participants about how acceptable they found the study (e.g. how satisfied they were with
the process), how feasible it was (e.g. were they able to attend and was it practice?), and how well we stuck to our co-production principles (e.g. how supported they felt).
Are you interested in taking part in this study?
Fill out this form
Planned end date
30 Jul 2026 23:55Conditions
Self-harm,SuicideInclusion Criteria
1.DBT Cohort Young Person Sample 1
Inclusion criteria will include that the young person:
a. Is aged 13 to 21 years old;
b. has completed at least four months of comprehensive DBT (i.e. inclusive of all four modes of intervention; Linehan, 1993; Miller et al., 2009; Rathus & Miller, 2015) in the past 24 months or have completed at least four months of DBT and are still in a comprehensive DBT programme;
c. identify as LGBTQ+ (including those questioning or unsure about their orientation/identity);
d. and the young person is willing and able to participate in the study.
Typically to be eligible for a DBT programme, the young people would need to have a history of self-harm and/or suicidal behaviours, difficulties with emotion regulation, and potentially difficulties with the remaining symptom list within borderline/emotionally unstable personality disorder.
2. Non-DBT Cohort Young Person Sample 2
Participants will be excluded from this group and considered for the first young person sample if they have been in a comprehensive DBT programme. If they have been offered DBT but not accessed DBT for any reason, they will be eligible for this group. Inclusion criteria will follow similar to sample 1. The young person:
a. Is aged 13 to 21 years old;
b. has not accessed or is currently within a comprehensive DBT programme;
c. has experienced difficulties with LGBTQ-related identity confusion, managing stigma experiences, and connecting with similar others;
d. identify as LGBTQ+ (including those questioning or unsure about their orientation/identity);
e. and the young person is willing and able to participate in the study (i.e. are based in the UK and can attend the inperson and online groups).
3. DBT Therapist Sample
Inclusion criteria will include:
a. That they are currently (or recently finished, within the past 12 months) practicing within a comprehensive DBT programme as a DBT therapist. In order to practice as a DBT therapist, they will need a professional qualification to be recognised as a clinician by appropriate healthcare regulators.
b. That they have experience working with at least one LGBTQ+ client in DBT, that was aged between 13 and 21 years at the time.
c. That they are willing and able to participate in the study.
Exclusion Criteria
Young people participants will not be included if they are outside of the age range, do not identify as LGBTQ+, have not been in a DBT programme within the timescales stated above (for group 1) or have not experienced the aforestated difficulties (for group 2), and are not willing/able to participate.
Therapist participants will not be included if they are not practicing as a DBT therapist within the past 12 months, do not have experience working with at least one LGBTQ+ young people in DBT, and are not willing to participate.