Patients with borderline personality disorder (5.4% of Canadians) are major consumers of health care. Their suicide mortality rate is 20.4%. Cochrane (2020) recommends dialectical behaviour therapy (DBT) to treat borderline personality disorder (BPD), as it reduces severity of symptoms, self-harm, suicide attempts and depression, and improves social functioning. It applies to adults, teens and children and can also be used to treat eating disorders, substance abuse, mood disorders, post-traumatic stress disorder, behaviour disorders in people on the autism spectrum and developmental delays.

DBT is not widely available in Quebec. The latest Plan d’action interministériel en santé mentale (2022) calls for step-by-step care, particularly self-care. Due due a lack of free, evidence-based Francophone resources and limited access to in-person care during the pandemic, an interdisciplinary team from the CIUSSS du Nord-de-l’Île-de-Montréal and the CISSS Lanaudière created over 150 DBT video clips and tools for families (in collaboration with Sashbear, which offers support groups for families). These teaching tools are used in various CIUSSSs and CISSSSs. They are available for free on the YouTube channel. The companion site (www.tcdmontreal.com) was a finalist for the Prix du recteur (Rector’s award) at the Université de Montréal in the Equity, Diversity and Inclusion category (tools adapted for, or created by, socially, culturally, and economically diverse populations), and was featured on the TV show Tout le monde en parle.

Project submitted by Dr. François Trottier-Duclos, Psychiatrist

Other contributors: psychiatrists Magalie Lussier-Valade, Marissa Tardif, Charlotte Gauthier, Julie Jomphe, Andréanne Filion-Quenneville and Thanh-Lan Ngô; occupational therapists Julie Massé and Mélanie Lévesque; Emma Cyr, psychology student; Louis-Pierre Belle-Isle, Social Worker