Telehealth for Dialectical Behavioral Therapy: A Commentary on the Experience of a Rapid Transition to Virtual Delivery of DBT

Telehealth has been rapidly adopted to provide continuity of delivery of mental health services in light of COVID-19. However, the remote implementation of intensive treatments like dialectical behavioral therapy (DBT) has been vastly understudied. The aim of the current commentary is to describe potential obstacles, propose solutions, and discuss advantages of transitioning from traditional in-person to a virtual delivery format for full model DBT. We speak to these points at multiple levels of relevance to clinical scientists and practitioners: (1) considerations about the virtual delivery format, (2) considerations for the virtual delivery of DBT specifically, and (3) person-level considerations (e.g., client, clinician). We illustrate the commentary using examples of obstacles encountered and solutions identified during our DBT team’s rapid transition to telehealth in response to COVID-19-related shut-downs and discuss considerations for the extension of telehealth delivery of DBT going forward. We are hopeful that the rapid transition to telehealth delivery of mental health services in response to COVID-19 serves as a call to action for clinicians to adapt and leverage technology to deliver DBT on a broader scale to improve patient health outcomes.