Expanding applications of dialectical behavior therapy: Prospects and pitfalls

The papers in this series describe creative adaptations of DBT for several populations. This commentary describes what I perceive as some of the strengths of DBT that suggest its potential for multiproblem patients as well as concerns about the possibility of clinical dissemination outpacing controlled data, potential obstacles to dissemination of effective DBT due to insufficient training, staffing, and financial resources, and the need to consider which aspects of DBT are needed to treat a given population both effectively and cost-efficiently.