Modified Dialectical Behavior Therapy Program Applied Within a Time-Limited Corrections Setting

Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT) is an empirically supported therapy developed to treat individuals with Borderline Personality Disorder that has sustained efficacy following completion of the treatment (Linehan, 1993; Van Den Bosch et al., 2005). The core concepts of DBT include mindfulness, interpersonal effectiveness, emotional regulation, and distress tolerance, which seek to foster more functional ways of interacting with others, coping with distress, and managing difficult emotions. Using a standard DBT format in a corrections setting can be difficult due to the population's multifaceted composition. The Denver County Jail is a unique corrections setting because it contains a unit specifically developed for male inmates with mental health issues. A corrections modified, time-limited DBT curriculum was developed to fit the needs of this unique population. During the course of the group, staff appeared to be accepting of the group material and initial feedback from inmates and officers was positive.

Mental Health Effects of Equine Therapy with Children

This study examined the effects of eight weekly lessons of therapeutic horseback riding (THR) on five children between the ages of 6 and 12 years who displayed behavioral issues, mood disturbance, relationship issues, or other mental health disorders. All of the children's parents/caregivers completed the Child Behavior Checklist for Ages 6-18 at the onset of the lessons and at the conclusion of the lessons. The children did not show any significant improvement on the Internalizing, Externalizing, Total Problems scales or the syndrome scales. However, comparisons between the pre-test and post-test scores on the Behavior scale and the Externalizing scale showed positive trends which warrant further study. The lack of significance in the data suggests that a greater participant population or a mixed method study using a combination of quantitative and qualitative strategies may yield more conclusive results.