How Breakthrough's investment in research is strengthening families across South Australia.
When we talk about mental health support for young people, we often focus on the individual. What their needs are and how treatment is helping them, or whether their symptoms are improving. But families shoulder a significant part of the load. When a young person is living with emotional dysregulation or traits of borderline personality disorder, the strain on parents and carers is enormous.
For years, carers have said they feel overwhelmed, isolated and unsure how to support a young person whose distress can escalate quickly. Until recently, there has been far less research on what works for carers themselves.
Breakthrough wanted to help change that.
With the support of our donors, James and Diana Ramsay Foundation, Breakthrough co-funded a study led by Advanced Clinician-Researcher Susan Num and her team at the Southern Youth Mental Health Service and Flinders University. Their goal was clear. Understand whether Dialectical Behaviour Therapy for Adolescents helps not only young people but also the carers who walk beside them every day.
The results have now been published in The Australian Psychologist and they tell an important story about what targeted, evidence-based support can achieve for families.
What research found
52 carers participated in the DBT-A program with their young person. Many arrived feeling burnt out, carrying guilt, or unsure how to respond when emotions escalated at home.
By the end of the program, carers reported meaningful improvement in areas that shape day-to-day family life.
- Carer burden decreased. The study showed a significant reduction in the load carers felt they were carrying. This includes emotional strain, disruption to home life, and the sense of responsibility that often becomes overwhelming.
- Family communication improved. Carers described being able to step back from conflict, listen more, and respond with greater calm. They spoke about arguments easing and household stress reducing.
- Skills stayed with them. Even months after the program, carers said the skills had become part of daily life. Mindfulness, distress-tolerance tools and practical strategies to manage difficult moments remained useful well beyond graduation.
- Confidence grew. Many carers said the program helped them understand their young person in a way they had never been able to before. It normalised their own feelings and reduced the guilt that so often comes with caring for someone in distress.
Across interviews, feedback forms and graduation reflections, carers repeatedly said the program changed their lives and strengthened their families.
Why this matters
Mental illness affects more than the person experiencing it. It affects siblings, parents, partners and extended family. When carers are supported, young people do better. Families become more stable. Relationships hold more strongly.
This research shows the value of family-inclusive treatment and why programs like DBT-A should continue to be expanded in community settings.
It also demonstrates the power of investing in clinical research that leads to real solutions for real people.
Recognising the leadership behind this work.
This study would not have been possible without the dedication of Susan Num, a leading clinician working with young people with complex mental health needs. Susan has long advocated for the importance of involving families in treatment and ensuring carers are equipped with evidence-based strategies that genuinely help.
Her leadership, along with the commitment of the SYMHS clinicians and the research team from Flinders University, has helped create one of the first Australian evaluations of carer outcomes in DBT-A. It is now informing how mental health services can better support families who often feel unseen.
Breakthrough is proud to have co-funded this work, alongside the James and Diana Ramsay Foundation, because it reflects exactly what our mission stands for. Research that shifts practice. Research that strengthens communities. Research that improves lives.
The Human Impact
Numbers matter, but the human stories say even more. Carers told the research team:
“It educated me an awful lot. I understood my child in a way I never had before.”
“I learnt to let go of guilt.”
“It changed myself, my partner and the rest of the family.”
“I use these skills with everyone in my life now.”
These are the outcomes that make research worthwhile.
What comes next
Breakthrough will continue investing in studies that create practical change for families. We are committed to supporting researchers like Susan Num and her colleagues who bring skill, compassion and evidence into community-based mental health care.
Families deserve treatments that work. Young people deserve a future shaped by understanding rather than crisis. Research like this brings us closer to that reality.
Read the recent published research here
Article Does dialectical behaviour therapy for adolescents improve carer experiences and outcomes
