Effectiveness of a Combined Group-individual Schema Therapy for Borderline Personality Disorder

Real-world Effectiveness of a Combined Group-individual Schema Therapy for Borderline Personality Disorder: A Pragmatic Randomized Clinical Trial

Status

Completed

Phases

Study type

Interventional

Source

ClinicalTrials.gov

Registry ID

NCT04211688

Enrollment

Registered

2019-12-26

Start date

2017-01-12

Completion date

2019-12-01

Last updated

2019-12-26

For informational purposes only — not medical advice. Sourced from public registries and may not reflect the latest updates. Terms

Conditions

Borderline Personality Disorder, Randomized Controlled Trial

Brief summary

Background and Objectives: Schema therapy has been shown to be of benefit in treating borderline personality disorder. However, it is still unclear what the most suitable treatment implementation format is and to what extent therapeutic gains may be generalizable to regular healthcare settings with limited resources. Methods: A pragmatic randomized controlled trial was conducted ona representative Spanish sample of outpatients with a DSM-5 main diagnosis of borderline personality disorder. Patients were allocated either to a combined (group plus individual) schema therapy format (n=40) or to a group-only schema therapy format (n=40). Borderline personality disorder severity was the primary outcome, with other clinical variables considered as secondary outcomes (e.g., early maladaptive schemas, functioning). The assessment protocol included baseline, post-treatment (after 12months of treatment), and six-month follow-up evaluations. Data was analyzed through a two-way repeated measures ANOVA. Limitations were a limited follow-up assessment and the absence of multi-center data that detracted from the long-term stability and generalizability of the findings.

Interventions

BEHAVIORALIndividual Schema therapy

weekly outpatient psychotherapy delivered in group setting

BEHAVIORALGroup Schema therapy

Bimonthly outpatient psychotherapy delivered in individual setting

Study design

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Intervention model

PARALLEL

Primary purpose

TREATMENT

Masking

SINGLE (Investigator)

Eligibility

Sex/Gender

ALL

Age

18 Years to 65 Years

Healthy volunteers

Inclusion criteria

* DSM-5 criteria for borderline personality disorder * Aged 18 to 65 years

Exclusion criteria

* Psychotic disorders (except short, reactive psychotic episodes) * Bipolar disorder (current hypo-manic or mixed episode) * Antisocial personality disorder * Substance intoxication * Mental retardation

Design outcomes

Primary

Measure	Time frame	Description
BPD (borderline personality disorder) symptomatology	18 months	Severity of borderline symptomatology as measured by a single score from the BSL-23 scale (range: 0-92; the higher the score, the more severe the BPD severity).

Secondary

Measure	Time frame	Description
global functioning	18 months	Severity of dysfunction as measured by a single score from the WHOQoL scale (range: 0-100; the higher the score, the more severe the global dysfunction).
early maladaptive schemas	18 months	Severity of maladaptive schemas as measured by a single score from the YSQ scale (range: 0-450; the higher the score, the more severe the EMS severity).

Outcome results

None listed

Source: ClinicalTrials.gov · Data processed: Feb 4, 2026