Treatment of borderline personality disorder with psychoanalytically oriented partial hospitalization: an 18-month follow-up.

Abstract

OBJECTIVE:

The aim of this study was to determine whether the substantial gains made by patients with borderline personality disorder following completion of a psychoanalytically oriented partial hospitalization program, in comparison to patients treated with standard psychiatric care, were maintained over an 18-month follow-up period.

METHOD:

Forty-four patients who participated in the original study were assessed every 3 months after completion of the treatment phase. Outcome measures included frequency of suicide attempts and acts of self-harm, number and duration of inpatient admissions, service utilization, and self-reported measures of depression, anxiety, general symptom distress, interpersonal functioning, and social adjustment.

RESULTS:

Patients who completed the partial hospitalization program not only maintained their substantial gains but also showed a statistically significant continued improvement on most measures in contrast to the patients treated with standard psychiatric care, who showed only limited change during the same period.

CONCLUSIONS:

The superiority of psychoanalytically oriented partial hospitalization over standard psychiatric treatment found in a previous randomized, controlled trial was maintained over an 18-month follow-up period. Continued improvement in social and interpersonal functioning suggests that longer-term changes were stimulated.

• Authors: A Bateman, P Fonagy
• Journal: The American journal of psychiatry (Am J Psychiatry) Vol. 158 Issue 1 Pg. 36-42 (Jan 2001) ISSN: 0002-953X [Print] United States
• PMID: 11136631 (Publication Type: Clinical Trial, Comparative Study, Journal Article, Randomized Controlled Trial)

Topics

• Borderline Personality Disorder (diagnosis, epidemiology, therapy)
• Comorbidity
• Day Care, Medical
• Depressive Disorder (diagnosis, epidemiology, psychology)
• Follow-Up Studies
• Hospitalization
• Humans
• Interpersonal Relations
• Length of Stay
• Personality Inventory (statistics & numerical data)
• Psychoanalytic Therapy
• Self-Injurious Behavior (diagnosis, epidemiology)
• Social Adjustment
• Suicide, Attempted (statistics & numerical data)
• Treatment Outcome