Transference-focused psychotherapy reduces treatment drop-out and suicide attempters compared with community psychotherapist treatment in borderline personality disorder
Question
Question
How does transference-focused psychotherapy (TFP) compare with treatment by community psychotherapists for borderline personality disorder (BPD)?
Patients
One hundred and four female outpatients aged between 18 and 45 years with Diagnostic and Statistical Manual, Fourth Edition (DSM-IV) BPD. Main exclusions: antisocial personality disorder, schizophrenia, bipolar I or II disorder with an episode in the past 6 months, recent substance dependency, organic pathology or mental retardation.
Setting
Two outpatient units, Germany; recruitment October 2004 to August 2006.
Intervention
TFP or community psychotherapist treatment for a year. TFP was a manualised-modified psychodynamic psychotherapy delivered in two 50 min sessions per week by a specially trained therapist. Community psychotherapists were experienced and particularly interested in people with BPDs; however, none of the therapists had specific training in manualised borderline psychotherapy.
Outcomes
(1) Primary outcomes included drop-out from treatment, suicide attempts (assessed using the Cornell Interview for Suicidal and Self Harming Behaviour – Self Report). (2) Secondary …
