The British Journal of Psychiatry (2010) 196: 389-395. doi: 10.1192/bjp.bp.109.070177
© 2010 The Royal College of Psychiatrists
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Transference-focused psychotherapy v. treatment by community psychotherapists for borderline personality disorder: randomised controlled trial

Stephan Doering, MD

Department of Prosthodontics and Material Sciences, Department of Psychosomatics and Psychotherapy, University of Muenster, Germany, and Department of Medical Psychology and Psychotherapy, Medical University Innsbruck, Austria

Susanne Hörz, PhD

Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Technical University Munich and Department of Psychology, University of Munich, Germany

Michael Rentrop, MD

Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Technical University Munich, Germany

Melitta Fischer-Kern, MD and Peter Schuster, MD

Department of Psychoanalysis and Psychotherapy, Medical University of Vienna, Austria

Cord Benecke, PhD and Anna Buchheim, PhD

Department of Clinical Psychology, University of Innsbruck, Austria

Philipp Martius, MD

Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Technical University Munich, and Klinik Höhenried gGmbH, Bernried, Germany

Peter Buchheim, MD

Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Technical University Munich, Germany

Correspondence: Correspondence: Stephan Doering, MD, Psychosomatics in Dentistry, Department of Prosthodontics and Material Sciences, University of Muenster, Waldeyerstrasse 30 48149 Muenster, Germany. Email: Stephan.doering{at}ukmuenster.de

Declaration of interest

None.

Background

Transference-focused psychotherapy is a manualised treatment for borderline personality disorder.

Aims

To compare transference-focused psychotherapy with treatment by experienced community psychotherapists.

Method

In a randomised controlled trial (NCT00714311) 104 female out-patients were treated for 1 year with either transference-focused psychotherapy or by an experienced community psychotherapist.

Results

Significantly fewer participants dropped out of the transference-focused psychotherapy group (38.5% v. 67.3%) and also significantly fewer attempted suicide (d = 0.8, P = 0.009). Transference-focused psychotherapy was significantly superior in the domains of borderline symptomatology (d = 1.6, P = 0.001), psychosocial functioning (d = 1.0, P = 0.002), personality organisation (d = 1.0, P = 0.001) and psychiatric in-patient admissions (d = 0.5, P = 0.001). Both groups improved significantly in the domains of depression and anxiety and the transference-focused psychotherapy group in general psychopathology, all without significant group differences (d = 0.3–0.5). Self-harming behaviour did not change in either group.

Conclusions

Transference-focused psychotherapy is more efficacious than treatment by experienced community psychotherapists in the domains of borderline symptomatology, psychosocial functioning, and personality organisation. Moreover, there is preliminary evidence for a superiority in the reduction of suicidality and need for psychiatric in-patient treatment.


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Home page
 Evid. Based Ment. HealthHome page
K. N. Levy, K. B. Meehan, and F. E. Yeomans
Transference-focused psychotherapy reduces treatment drop-out and suicide attempters compared with community psychotherapist treatment in borderline personality disorder
Evid. Based Ment. Health, August 10, 2010; (2010) ebmh1097v1.
[Full Text] [PDF]