Social media group parallel to dialectical behavior therapy skills training group, the pros and cons

Abstract

Introduction

In the past few years, social media has gained a high popularity as a dynamic and interactive computer-mediated communication tools. Although it has become a part of everyday life for most of our clients, yet we did not have the opportunity to study its impact on compliance to therapy.

Objective

Assessment of impact of parallel social media group to dialectical behavior therapy (DBT) skills training group in a sample of Egyptian patients suffering from borderline personality disorder (BPD).

Aim

The aim of the current study was to estimate impact of parallel social media group on compliance to DBT skills training group and its adverse events.

Methods

Patients with BPD enrolled to an outpatient comprehensive DBT program in Alexandria were assigned either to group (A) skills training, where a parallel Facebook group was crated aiming at increasing to compliance to the original group, or group (B) skills training alone and dropout rates were calculated based on completion of 6 months full skills training. We considered patients out of the group if they missed 4 sessions in a raw.

Results

Two patients of 15 patients who joined group (A) missed four consecutive sessions with a dropout rate of 13%, whereas group (B) showed 43% drop out rate as 10 out of 23 patients did not complete the group. The difference was statistically significant. We reported only one privacy issue dealt with it immediately.

Conclusion

Utilization of social media group could lead to increase patient compliance to DBT skills training group.

Disclosure of interest

The authors have not supplied their declaration of competing interest.