The Effectiveness of Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT) in Dealing with Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) Among Teenagers: A Single Case Study

Introduction: Bullying is a traumatic event which has negative consequences on adolescents' mental health. A likely consequence is posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Objective: The study had two objectives: (a) to measure the level of trauma and (b) to see the effectiveness of dialectical behaviour therapy (DBT) as an intervention for teenagers with PTSD. Methodology: The participant was a 15-year-old Malay female teenager from a boarding school, who completed a PCL-5 instrument to determine the level of trauma. A descriptive methodology was applied to answer the first objective while thematic analysis was utilised for the second objective. The adopted methodology of this research was a mixed method, quasi-experimental design using PCL-5 for the instrument and in-depth interviews for qualitative data. There were six sessions held by the mental health practitioner to assess the effectiveness of DBT in dealing with the teenager with PTSD. Results: The results confirm that (a) the percentage of victims of PTSD and bullying was significantly higher and needed an intervention by a mental health practitioner, and (b) the victim had suffered significantly with trauma that led to low self-esteem, self-harm, and suicide attempt. The result further indicated that DBT techniques using mindfulness, distress tolerance, emotion regulation, and interpersonal effectiveness showed significantly improved effectiveness in helping the victim cure the symptoms related to PTSD. Discussion: The study emphasised the importance of intervention from family, school, and society at large to reduce bullying and enhance respect for sexual diversity which is discussed as an effective tool to help the victims of PTSD.