Borderline Personality Disorder, Suicide
Conditions
Keywords
Suicide, Women, Emotions, Psychotherapy, Group
Brief summary
This study is a component analysis of dialectical behavior therapy (DBT) to determine the importance of DBT skills training and DBT individual therapy in treating suicidal women with borderline personality disorder.
Detailed description
People with borderline personality disorder have limited behavioral skills and react abnormally to emotional stimulation. Standard dialectical behavior therapy (SDBT) has been shown to be an effective treatment for borderline personality disorder. This treatment combines weekly group sessions, at which patients learn new ways of dealing with their emotions, with weekly individual sessions with a therapist to discuss their emotions. The study compares SDBT to both individual DBT with no skills training and DBT skills training with no individual therapy. The study will determine whether efficacy of standard DBT is reduced when either DBT skills training or individual DBT therapy is removed. Participants are randomly assigned to receive 1 year of SDBT, DBT with group sessions but no individual sessions, and DBT with individual sessions with no group sessions. Participants are monitored for 1 year after completing their assigned therapy. Throughout the 1-year study and during the 1-year follow-up period, self-report scales and questionnaires are used to assess participants every 4 months. These scales and questionnaires measure participants' suicidal thoughts and attempts, treatment compliance, emotional coping skills, social functioning, and overall well-being.
Interventions
BEHAVIORALStandard dialectical behavior therapy (SDBT)
Standard DBT includes: 1) individual DBT therapy (1 hour per week), 2) DBT group skills training (2.5 hours per week), 3) telephone consultation (as needed), and 4) therapist consultation team (1 hour per week).
BEHAVIORALIndividual DBT with no DBT group sessions (DBT-I)
Individual DBT (DBT-I) is 1 hour per week of individual therapy and 2.5 hours per week with the psychosocial activities group.
BEHAVIORALGroup Skills DBT with no DBT individual sessions (DBT-S)
DBT group skills training is 2.5 hours per week and includes individual case management.
Sponsors
University of Washington
National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH)
Study design
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
PARALLEL
Primary purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
SINGLE (Outcomes Assessor)
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
FEMALE
Age
18 Years to 60 Years
Healthy volunteers
No
Inclusion criteria
* Diagnosis of BPD * At least one suicide attempt in the year prior to study entry AND at least one intentional self-injury within the 8 weeks prior to study entry * Willing and able to comply with all study requirements
Exclusion criteria
* IQ less than 70 * Life-threatening anorexia * Street homelessness with no contact information * Admittance to a hospital with no expectation of discharge within 3 weeks prior to study entry OR sentenced to a jail or prison term that will last for more than 3 weeks * Ordered by the court to receive psychological treatment * Meet DSM-IV criteria for schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, or seizure disorder * Medical conditions other than BPD that may interfere with the study
Design outcomes
Primary
| Measure | Time frame |
|---|---|
| Suicidal thoughts or attempts | Measured at Year 2 |
Secondary
| Measure | Time frame |
|---|---|
| Coping skills | Measured at Year 2 |
Countries
United States
Outcome results
None listed