Dialectical behavior therapy for adolescents- bilingual Spanish (DBT ABS): recommendations, examples, and a call to action for culturally and linguistically attuned applications of dialectical behavior therapy for Latinx adolescents living in the United States.

BACKGROUND: Trauma, acculturation stressors, and discrimination are among many factors that place Latinx children and adolescents living in the United States at high risk for mental health distress and suicidal behavior. Despite these well-documented risk factors, mental health providers struggle to continuously engage Latinx youth and families in mental health care, including evidence-based treatments for addressing suicidal behaviors such as Dialectical Behavior Therapy for Adolescents (DBT-A). One barrier to engagement is access to such effective treatments.

OBJECTIVE: While highlighting inequities and resulting mental health disparities for Latinx communities, this article shares a call to action that contextualizes suicidal behaviors of Latinx youth within oppression and marginalization and identifies effective, flexible, and culturally attuned ways to increase access to and utilization of DBT-A.

METHODS: Five recommendations are proposed for implementing a culturally and linguistically attuned application of DBT-A.

RESULTS: These five recommendations guided the creation of the DBT-A Bilingual Spanish (DBT-ABS) multifamily skills group, increasing access for Latinx adolescents with Spanish speaking caregivers.

CONCLUSION: Understanding and addressing disparities, supporting and training bilingual clinicians, and contextualizing DBT in cultural humility and collaborative participation facilitate efforts for increasing access to evidence based care.