DBT-STEPS-A

This project is a partnership between the West Virginia Prevention Research Center and the WVU School of Social Work to implement Dialectical Behavior Therapy Skills Training and Emotional Problem Solving for Adolescents (DBT-STEPS-A) as a mental health/suicide prevention program on alternative middle/high schools in greenbrier county.

In collaboration with Greenbrier County School District and the local Communities in Schools, we are assessing the feasibility and accessibility of DBT-STEPS-A in a rural alternative school with the intention of applying for additional funding to assess student outcomes and scalability across schools in West Virginia.

These students have mostly been expelled from their schools and are at higher risk of adverse mental health and academic outcomes. The goal is to improve their coping skills (e.g., mindfulness, distress tolerance and emotion regulation) to improve their mental health and academic success.