Abstract
Research on the treatment of offenders has concluded that rehabilitation can occur and most often occurs within social-learning treatment modalities. To date, cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) has been the most studied and, therefore, the most empirically supported method of rehabilitation. The overlap of clinical presentations of individuals with borderline personality disorder and offenders as a general population is vast and includes a dearth of interpersonal skills, emotion dysregulation, and aggressive behaviors (towards self and others). The application of Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT), which is a social-learning modality, to rehabilitation has been limited; yet, early outcomes remain promising. The following original contribution to practice provides a systematic application of DBT principles within the most frequently employed rehabilitation framework: Risk-Need-Responsivity.