Adding dialectical behaviour therapy to multidisciplinary rehabilitation does not change quality of life but can improve emotional regulation and personal goals attainment after acquired brain injury

PURPOSE: To compare changes in quality of life (primary outcome), emotional dysregulation, personal goal attainment, self-esteem, and symptoms of depression, anxiety, and stress between a 5-month control phase of multidisciplinary intervention without Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT) and a 5-month phase with DBT, and a follow-up phase, in patients at a chronic phase of acquired brain injury (ABI). MATERIALS AND METHODS: Monocentric, open, comparative, prospective trial with three 5-month phases, where 44 participants, aged 19 to 65, with chronic ABI and emotional dysregulation served as their own controls. RESULTS: After 5 months of DBT, self-reported emotional regulation difficulties (DERS-16) decreased more in the DBT phase than in the control phase, and these results were maintained at follow-up. Improvements in quality of life (QOLIBRI) were similar in both phases. There were no improvements in self-esteem (RSE) or symptoms of stress, anxiety, and depression (DASS-21). Despite the persistence of high levels of stress, anxiety, and depression post-therapy, 75% of participants maintained achievement of personal goals at follow-up. CONCLUSIONS: DBT can be useful for improving emotional regulation after ABI and can improve goal attainment even in the presence oh high distress.