Some of the advantages could also include that there is optimal control of the group and that the group is a strong knit group that slowly earns the trust of others in the group over time. In the beginning it was thought that DBT was only designed to work on an outpatient mental health basis however recently more studies are being done in order to compare the type of treatment with the inpatient setting and to see if having DBT while clients are inpatient is a way to improve their recovery time and their overall recovery through DBT treatments.
In one study it showed that DBT was effective and helped those who were inpatient very well. It also showed that the number of clients who were at the hospital and on the waiting list for the group increased and the clients really seemed to be happy with how this group was ran and in their own ability to participate in this type of group.
It was shown that “three months of inpatient DBT treatment is significantly superior.” This could be a problem for many clinicians and psychologists as with the newer managed health care systems it is hard to get extended hospital stays for those who are patients in the mental health unit of the hospital and this study might not reflect the validity of how the treatment would be if the inpatient client was only there for a few days or even a week (Bohus, Haaf, Simms, Limberger, Schmahl, Unckle, Lieb, and Linehan 2004 p. 496).
In another study on the topic of DBT in the hospital setting there was information that studied clients who were inpatient for a period of three months. In this setting there were many positive results which reinforce the belief that if done consecutively there is more of a chance of having better luck with the treatment than if the treatment were done on a part time basis or for a shorter time period.
This study also provides insight to the modifications of DBT for the inpatient setting and how there were more information gathered about this process and through this practice (Kroger, Schweiger, Sipos, Arnold, Kahl, Schunert, Rudolf, and Reinecker 2006). This meaning that there are a lot of ways that things need to be identified in the group in order to be able to manage the group and carry out successful group DBT treatment.
This type of treatment could quite possibly be beneficial to a client even on a short term stay in the hospital however it would need to be further researched in order to make that assessment. DBT can also be done on an individual basis but the original design and the overall implementation of this type of therapy is structured more towards the group setting.