Bringing research findings to the clinic and back: Commentary on the special issue on mentalization in borderline personality disorder.

2015 ◽  
Vol 6 (4) ◽  
pp. 395-396 ◽  
Author(s):  
Antonia S. New
Keyword(s):  
Borderline Personality Disorder ◽  
Personality Disorder ◽  
Borderline Personality ◽  
Special Issue ◽  
Research Findings

Schema Focused Therapy for Forensic Patients with Personality Disorders: New Research Findings

2009 ◽  
Vol 24 (S1) ◽  
pp. 1-1 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. Bernstein ◽  
A. Arntz
Keyword(s):  
Clinical Trial ◽  
Borderline Personality Disorder ◽  
Personality Disorder ◽  
Borderline Personality ◽  
Forensic Patients ◽  
Forensic Treatment ◽  
Research Findings ◽  
Promising Treatment ◽  
New Research ◽  
To Receive

Rationale:Schema Focused Therapy (SFT) has proven effective in outpatients with Borderline Personality Disorder (PD)(Giesen-Bloo et al., 2006). To test the effectiveness of SFT with forensic patients, we have begun a multi-center randomized clinical trial of SFT for male forensic patients with Antisocial, Borderline, Narcissistic, or Paranoid PDs.Methods:One hundred twenty patients will be enrolled from 7 high security forensic hospitals (“TBS clinics”) in The Netherlands. Patients are randomly assigned to receive either SFT or usual forensic treatment. Patients receive 3 years of therapy, and are assessed every 6 months for changes in PD symptoms, recidivism risk, and other outcomes. Following treatment completion, patients will be followed an additional 3 years to assess actual recidivism.Results:Since 2007, 39 patients (mean PCL-R score = 25.0, SD = 6.6) have been enrolled in the study, 22 have completed their 12-month assessments, and 11 their 18-month assessments. Only 3 have dropped out. Recruitment is ongoing, with expected completion of the project in 2012. Pilot data on a different sample of N = 18 forensic PD inpatients treated in SFT for a mean of 1.9 years (SD = 0.8) is encouraging. Nine of the 18 patients showed reliable improvement, and only one showed reliable deterioration (mean d-score = 0.84, SD = 0.95, p < .01).Conclusions:SFT appears to be a promising treatment for forensic patients with Antisocial and other Cluster B PDs.

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