Borderline Personality Disorder
Conditions
Keywords
borderline personality disorder, randomized controlled trial, Transference-Focused Psychotherapy, treatment by experienced community psychotherapists
Brief summary
The purpose of this study is to find out whether Transference-Focused Psychotherapy (TFP) is effective in the treatment of Borderline Personality Disorder.
Detailed description
Borderline personality disorder represents a sever clinical condition that affects 1-2% of the community and is characterized by a pervasive instability of interpersonal relationships, self-image, and affects, as well as a marked impulsivity; up to 10% of the patients commit suicide. Transference-Focused Psychotherapy (TFP) is one psychotherapeutic approach among five that have been manualized and evaluated in RCTs. So far, TFP has not been compared to a control condition which is a crucial step in the evaluation of the efficacy of a psychosocial intervention. This study is an RCT that compares one year of outpatient TFP to treatment by experienced community psychotherapists for borderline personality disorder.
Interventions
BEHAVIORALTransference-Focused Psychotherapy
Outpatient psychotherapy according to the treatment manual, sessions of 50 minutes twice per week
BEHAVIORALtreatment by experienced community psychotherapists
Outpatient psychotherapy in private practices or outpatient units of psychiatric hospitals. Licensed psychotherapists with experience and special interest in the treatment of borderline patients are treating according to the method they have learned.
Sponsors
University Hospital Muenster
Study design
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
PARALLEL
Primary purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
SINGLE (Outcomes Assessor)
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
FEMALE
Age
18 Years to 45 Years
Healthy volunteers
No
Inclusion criteria
* Written informed consent to the participation in the study * Diagnosis of BPD according to DSM-IV as assessed using the SCID-II * Age between 18 and 45 years * Sufficient knowledge of the German language
Exclusion criteria
* Diagnosis of schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, severe substance abuse, organic pathology, or mental retardation according to DSM-IV as assessed using the SCID-I * Diagnosis of antisocial personality disorder according to DSM-IV as assessed using the SCID-II
Design outcomes
Primary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Drop-out | 1 year | Did not finish one year of treatment. |
| Suicidality (Suicide Attempts) | 1 year | — |
Secondary
| Measure | Time frame |
|---|---|
| Attachment Style and Reflective Function (Adult Attachment Interview, AAI) | 1 year |
| Borderline Symptomatology (DSM-IV Criteria) | 1 month |
| Number of Self-harming Acts | 1 year |
| Level of Personality Organization (Structured Interview for Personality Organization, STIPO) | 1 year |
| Psychosocial Functioning (Global Assessment of Functioning, GAF-Score) | 1 year |
| Self-assessment of Psychopathology (BDI, STAI, BSI) | 1 year |
Countries
Austria, Germany
Participant flow
Participants by arm
| Arm | Count |
|---|---|
| Transferenced-Focused Psychotherapy Transferenced-Focused Psychotherapy (TFP) | 52 |
| Experienced Community Psychotherapists Experienced Community Psychotherapists (ECP) | 52 |
| Total | 104 |
Baseline characteristics
| Characteristic | Transferenced-Focused Psychotherapy | Experienced Community Psychotherapists | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Age, Categorical <=18 years | 0 Participants | 0 Participants | 0 Participants |
| Age, Categorical >=65 years | 0 Participants | 0 Participants | 0 Participants |
| Age, Categorical Between 18 and 65 years | 52 Participants | 52 Participants | 104 Participants |
| Age, Continuous | 27.46 years STANDARD_DEVIATION 6.8 | 27.19 years STANDARD_DEVIATION 7.5 | 27.33 years STANDARD_DEVIATION 7.11 |
| Region of Enrollment Austria | 20 participants | 20 participants | 40 participants |
| Region of Enrollment Germany | 32 participants | 32 participants | 64 participants |
| Sex: Female, Male Female | 52 Participants | 52 Participants | 104 Participants |
| Sex: Female, Male Male | 0 Participants | 0 Participants | 0 Participants |
Adverse events
| Event type | EG000 affected / at risk | EG001 affected / at risk |
|---|---|---|
| deaths Total, all-cause mortality | — / — | — / — |
| other Total, other adverse events | 0 / 0 | 0 / 0 |
| serious Total, serious adverse events | 0 / 0 | 0 / 0 |
Outcome results
Primary
Drop-out
Did not finish one year of treatment.
Time frame: 1 year
| Arm | Measure | Value (NUMBER) |
|---|---|---|
| Transferenced-Focused Psychotherapy | Drop-out | 13 participants |
| Experienced Community Psychotherapists | Drop-out | 20 participants |
Primary
Suicidality (Suicide Attempts)
Time frame: 1 year
Secondary
Attachment Style and Reflective Function (Adult Attachment Interview, AAI)
Time frame: 1 year
Secondary
Borderline Symptomatology (DSM-IV Criteria)
Time frame: 1 month
Secondary
Level of Personality Organization (Structured Interview for Personality Organization, STIPO)
Time frame: 1 year
Secondary
Number of Self-harming Acts
Time frame: 1 year
Secondary
Psychosocial Functioning (Global Assessment of Functioning, GAF-Score)
Time frame: 1 year
Secondary
Self-assessment of Psychopathology (BDI, STAI, BSI)
Time frame: 1 year