A Dialectical Behavior Therapy Skills Group Case Study on Mothers With Severe Emotion Dysregulation

- Case study design to examine DBT skills training and parenting behaviors
- DBT skills training reduced mental health and emotion dysregulation symptoms
- DBT skills training was related to improvements in parenting behaviors and stress
- DBT skills were used in the context of parenting nearly half of the time
- Emotion regulation may be a potential pathway to improve parenting

Parenting is an emotionally demanding endeavor, which can be particularly challenging for parents who struggle with psychopathology and lack the regulation skills to manage their own emotional lability. Although dialectical behavior therapy (DBT) is an effective treatment that directly targets emotion dysregulation, little is known about whether DBT might also improve parenting behaviors. A DBT skills group was employed to examine whether DBT skills are utilized by mothers in their parenting and whether skill use improves parenting. Four mothers with severe emotion dysregulation who met diagnostic criteria for at least one Axis I disorder were part of a case study, in which they completed a DBT skills group for mothers, and two of the mothers participated in an in-depth exit interview regarding their use of DBT skills in their parenting. The mothers reported substantial changes in their parenting during the exit interview and modest improvements were found for parenting in pre- to posttreatment parenting assessments. This paper describes the various parenting contexts in which DBT skills were used and discusses maternal emotion regulation as a potential pathway from DBT skills to improved parenting.