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Brief psychological intervention for distress tolerance in an adult secondary care community mental health service: an evaluation

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  12 November 2020

Isobel Wright ,
Emma Travers-Hill ,
Fergus Gracey ,
Jordan Troup ,
Katherine Parkin ,
Stephanie Casey  and
Youngsuk Kim
Isobel Wright
Affiliation:
Cambridgeshire and Peterborough NHS Foundation Trust, Community Mental Health Teams, Union House, 37 Union Lane, Chesterton, CambridgeCB41PR, UK Department of Clinical Psychology, Elizabeth Fry Building, University of East Anglia, Norwich Research Park, NorwichNR47TJ, UK
Emma Travers-Hill
Affiliation:
Cambridgeshire and Peterborough NHS Foundation Trust, Community Mental Health Teams, Union House, 37 Union Lane, Chesterton, CambridgeCB41PR, UK
Fergus Gracey
Affiliation:
Department of Clinical Psychology, Elizabeth Fry Building, University of East Anglia, Norwich Research Park, NorwichNR47TJ, UK
Jordan Troup
Affiliation:
Cambridgeshire and Peterborough NHS Foundation Trust, Community Mental Health Teams, Union House, 37 Union Lane, Chesterton, CambridgeCB41PR, UK
Katherine Parkin
Affiliation:
Cambridgeshire and Peterborough NHS Foundation Trust, Community Mental Health Teams, Union House, 37 Union Lane, Chesterton, CambridgeCB41PR, UK
Stephanie Casey
Affiliation:
Cambridgeshire and Peterborough NHS Foundation Trust, Community Mental Health Teams, Union House, 37 Union Lane, Chesterton, CambridgeCB41PR, UK Department of Clinical Psychology, Elizabeth Fry Building, University of East Anglia, Norwich Research Park, NorwichNR47TJ, UK
Youngsuk Kim
Affiliation:
Cambridgeshire and Peterborough NHS Foundation Trust, Community Mental Health Teams, Union House, 37 Union Lane, Chesterton, CambridgeCB41PR, UK
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Abstract

Distress intolerance has been suggested to be a maintaining factor in several mental health conditions. Distress tolerance skills training has been found to be beneficial in emotionally unstable personality disorder (EUPD) and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Short-term targeted interventions are increasingly being implemented in response to demand. This study investigates the efficacy of a distress tolerance brief psychological intervention (DT BPI) delivered by non-psychologists within an adult secondary care mental health service. Questionnaire data (pre and post) are reported from 43 participants who completed the intervention. Results suggest that the intervention was associated with significant improvements in distress tolerance, mood, anxiety and wellbeing. This indicates that a DT BPI can be effective when delivered by non-psychologists to real-world adult secondary care clients. The findings offer promising evidence that DT BPI could be a beneficial, cost-effective intervention and warrants further large-scale investigation.

Key learning aims

  1. (1) To enhance practitioners’ awareness of distress intolerance as a potential maintaining factor and therefore treatment target.

  2. (2) To outline a transdiagnostic distress tolerance brief psychological intervention.

  3. (3) To illustrate the potential of this distress tolerance brief psychological intervention to produce positive reliable change with real-world clients when delivered by non-psychologists.

Keywords

adultsemotionevidence-based practicepsychological therapiesservice evaluation
Type
Service Models, Forms of Delivery and Cultural Adaptations of CBT
Information
the Cognitive Behaviour Therapist , Volume 13 , 2020 , e50
Copyright
© British Association for Behavioural and Cognitive Psychotherapies 2020

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References

Further reading

Allan, N. P., Macatee, R. J., Norr, A. M., & Schmidt, N. B. (2014). Direct and interactive effects of distress tolerance and anxiety sensitivity on generalized anxiety and depression. Cognitive Therapy and Research, 38, 530–540.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Brosan, L., & Spong, A. (2017). An Introduction to Coping with Extreme Emotions: A Guide to Borderline or Emotionally Unstable Personality Disorder. London, UK: Robinson.Google Scholar
Linehan, M. M. (2015). DBT Skills Training Manual. New York, USA: The Guilford Press.Google Scholar

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