Can DBT skills ease emotional distress after a first psychotic episode?
NCT ID NCT07777315
First seen Aug 20, 2026 · Last updated Aug 21, 2026 · Updated 1 time
Summary
This study tests whether an 8-week group program teaching dialectical behaviour therapy (DBT) skills is feasible and acceptable for people aged 14–35 who have experienced a first episode of psychosis. The program focuses on managing emotions, tolerating distress, and improving relationships. Researchers will measure attendance, satisfaction, and changes in mood and functioning to decide if a larger trial is warranted.
What this could mean
Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only, not medical advice or a prediction.
- Active substance
- Group dialectical behaviour therapy (DBT) skills training delivered over 8 weeks
- What this could lead to
- If this approach proves feasible and helpful, it could lead to a larger trial testing whether DBT skills training improves emotion regulation, mood, and daily functioning in people recovering from a first episode of psychosis.
- What could go wrong
- This is a small feasibility study, not a large effectiveness trial. It may not show clear benefits, and the intervention might not be acceptable or practical for all participants.
This is an AI summary of the original study and may miss details. Read our disclaimer.
Study facts
What this study's own registry entry says, in plain language.
- Phase
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Not a phased trial
Phase numbers describe drug development. The registry uses this when they do not apply, as it does for trials of devices, procedures or behaviour changes, and for observational studies.
- Participants
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About 32 people
The number the study aims to enrol. It can still change while the study runs.
- Expected to start
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Sep 2026
An estimate. Start dates often move.
- Expected to finish
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Dec 2027
An estimate. End dates often move.
- Lead sponsor
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Other sponsor
The registry's catch-all category, for sponsors it does not file as a company, a government agency, or a research network.
Who can take part
This study's own entry requirements. Only the study team can say for certain whether you qualify.
- Ages
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14 to 35 years
- Sex
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Anyone
- Healthy volunteers
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Not accepted
This study is not open to healthy volunteers. The entry requirements below say who it is open to.
Show the full entry requirements Hide the full entry requirements
Copied word for word from the study's registry entry, so the wording is the study team's rather than ours.
Inclusion Criteria: 1. Be 14-35 years old. 2. All gender identities are eligible to participate. 3. Being competent as demonstrated by comprehension of the study procedures, risks, benefits and their rights as a volunteer in the research study and willing to consent to study participation. 4. Meets criteria for a psychotic spectrum disorder as determined by Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5) (e.g., schizophrenia, schizoaffective disorder, schizophreniform disorder, brief psychotic disorder, delusional disorder, other specified schizophrenia spectrum disorder, or other unspecified schizophrenia spectrum disorder), or bipolar disorder with psychotic features, and is within 3 years of their initial diagnosis. Exclusion Criteria: 1. Diagnosis of intellectual disability previously documented in the patient chart. 2. Acute suicidality requiring immediate life-saving intervention (i.e., inpatient psychiatric care). 3. Receiving any additional structured psychotherapy interventions during the study period.
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Conditions
The condition(s) this trial relates to.
As listed by the trial registrant
The condition terms exactly as the trial's registrant entered them.
How to take part
Only the study team decides who joins. These are the ways to reach them.
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The official record
ClinicalTrials.gov lists the study team's own contact details, including names and phone numbers. We don't republish those.
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A doctor treating you
A doctor who knows your case can contact a study site on your behalf, and can tell you whether this study is worth pursuing at all.
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