Telehealth and Collaboratively Delivered Dialectical Behaviour Therapy: An Opportunity for Increasing Access to Effective Treatment for People With Borderline Personality Disorder Living in Rural Areas.

AIMS: The aim of this commentary is to consider how telehealth and a collaborative model of service delivery may offer a way of making Dialectical Behaviour Therapy available in rural areas.

CONTEXT: Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT) is an effective treatment for Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD). However, there are many barriers to making this sort of therapy available within routine care, particularly in rural areas.

APPROACH: This commentary provides a summary of the literature relevant to the role that telehealth could play in increasing access to DBT. A new model of care could utilise telehealth services to deliver comprehensive DBT treatment to people with BPD living in rural areas in partnership with community mental health services.

CONCLUSION

Telehealth and collaborative models of Dialectical Behaviour Therapy delivery should be further investigated, especially to meet the needs of rural mental health care.