Donkin, LiesjeThakral, PriyaHindle, ShellyZeng, IreneKercher, Amy Jane2026-05-202026-05-202025-11-06BMC Psychology, ISSN: 2050-7283 (Print); 2050-7283 (Online), BMC, 13(1), 1230-. doi: 10.1186/s40359-025-02694-02050-72832050-7283http://hdl.handle.net/10292/21139Background: Dialectical Behavior Therapy – Skills Training for Emotional Problem Solving for Adolescents (DBT STEPS-A) is a 30-week program adapted from the comprehensive DBT protocol for adolescents, to be delivered in schools, by school staff. This novel approach takes a preventative position wherein adolescents (aged 11–18) are taught social and emotional skills from DBT to equip them to navigate challenging situations with the premise that this may prevent the development of more severe psychological difficulties. Few studies exist evaluating the “real world delivery” of STEPS-A, and less so outside the United States of America. This protocol outlines the planned evaluation of the effectiveness of the STEPS-A program, as delivered by Marinoto Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service (Health New Zealand|Te Whatu Ora - Waitematā) in Aotearoa New Zealand. Method: This research will use a mixed-methods approach. Specifically, the evaluation of the program will be based on: (i) completed psychometrics pre- and post- program completion, (ii) perceived acceptability as expressed by participants, their families and the schools running the STEPS-A program during semi-structured interviews and focus groups, and (iii) the feasibility of the STEPS-A program in terms of the ability of participating schools to deliver it in an ongoing manner and (iv) any adaptations required to run the program in New Zealand in a culturally responsive manner. The proposed protocol has been peer reviewed by two independent academics and approved by a national health and disability ethics committee. A power analysis has also indicated that the estimated number of program participants will likely yield a sample that will be adequately powered for data analysis. Discussion: This research will evaluate the effectiveness, acceptability and feasibility of the STEPS-A program. Findings will highlight the challenges of implementation in a public health system and the suitability for use with an indigenous population.Open Access. This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License, which permits any non-commercial use, sharing, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if you modified the licensed material. You do not have permission under this licence to share adapted material derived from this article or parts of it. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article’s Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article’s Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this licence, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/.AdolescentsDBTDBT in schoolsDialectical behavior therapyPilotPreventionProtocolSTEPS-ASelf-harmSkills training5202 Biological Psychology5203 Clinical and Health Psychology52 Psychology5201 Applied and Developmental PsychologyPediatric Research InitiativeClinical Trials and Supportive ActivitiesPreventionBehavioral and Social ScienceMental HealthClinical Research6.6 Psychological and behaviouralMental health3 Good Health and Well Being1701 PsychologyProgram EvaluationAdolescent BehaviorEmotionsProblem SolvingAdolescentChildNew ZealandFemaleMaleDialectical Behavior TherapyHumansAdolescentNew ZealandChildDialectical Behavior TherapyProblem SolvingEmotionsFemaleMaleProgram EvaluationAdolescent BehaviorJournal ArticleOpenAccess10.1186/s40359-025-02694-0