The Psychology of Self-Injury: Exploring Self-Harm & Mental Health

Emotion Regulation Group Therapy (ERGT) for Self-Harm, with Drs. Kim Gratz & Matthew Tull

Episode Summary

Kim Gratz, PhD, and Matthew Tull, PhD, from the University of Toledo walk us through Emotion Regulation Group Therapy (ERGT) intervention for nonsuicidal self-injury and self-harm.

Episode Notes

A lot of therapies address the context in which nonsuicidal self-injury (NSSI) and self-harm may occur, but only a few treatments have been designed to address NSSI specifically. In this episode, we dive into one of these treatments: Emotion Regulation Group Therapy (ERGT). Drs. Kim Gratz and Matthew Tull from the University of Toledo in Ohio walk us through in significant detail each of the 90-minute 14 sessions of ERGT.

Learn more about Dr. Gratz here and reach her at klgratz28@gmail.com. Learn more about Dr. Tull here and follow him on Twitter @MTTull. Learn more about the Personality and Emotion Research and Treatment (PERT) Laboratory within the Department of Psychology at the University of Toledo here, and follow the PERT Lab on Twitter @LabPert. Below are links to their research on ERGT referenced in this episode:

  1. Gratz, K. L., & Gunderson, J. G. (2006). Preliminary data on an acceptance-based emotion regulation group intervention for deliberate self-harm among women with Borderline Personality Disorder. Behavior Therapy, 37(1), 25-35.
  2. Gratz, K. L., & Tull, M. T. (2011). Extending research on the utility of an adjunctive emotion regulation group therapy for deliberate self-harm among women with borderline personality pathology. Personality Disorders: Theory, Research, and Treatment, 2(4), 316–326.
  3. Gratz, K. L., Tull, M. T., & Levy, R. (2014). Randomized controlled trial and uncontrolled 9-month follow-up of an adjunctive emotion regulation group therapy for deliberate self-harm among women with borderline personality disorder. Psychological Medicine, 44, 2099–2112.
  4. Gratz, K. L., Bardeen, J. R., Levy, R., Dixon-Gordon, K., L., & Tull, M. T. (2015). Mechanisms of change in an emotion regulation group therapy for deliberate self-harm among women with borderline personality disorder. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 65, 29-35.
  5. Sahlin, H., Bjureberg, J., Gratz, K. L., Tull, M. T., Hedman, E., Bjarehed, J., Jokinen, J., Lundh, L., Ljotsson, B., & Hellner, C. (2017). Emotion regulation group therapy for deliberate self-harm: A multi-site evaluation in routine care using an uncontrolled open trial design. BMJ Open, 7(10), e016220.

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The Psychology of Self-Injury podcast has been rated #5 by Feedspot in their "Best 20 Clinical Psychology Podcasts" and by Welp Magazine in their "20 Best Injury Podcasts."