Naturalistic evaluation of dialectical behavior therapy-oriented treatment for borderline personality disorder

Abstract

This article reports the results of a naturalistic investigation comparing the effectiveness of a dialectical behavior therapy-oriented treatment (DBT) with a client-centered therapy control condition (CCT) for borderline personality disorder patients (BPD). Twenty-four patients diagnosed with BPD were randomly assigned to either DBT or CCT. Blinded, independent rater evaluations and a battery of patient self-report measures were completed at baseline, 6 months, and 1 year during the course of treatment. Measures of suicide attempts and self-harm episodes were collected on a weekly basis. The number of psychiatric hospitalization days per 6-month period was also measured. Outcomes showed the DBT group improved more than the CCT group on most measures. The quality of the therapeutic alliance accounted for significant variance in patients' outcomes across both treatments.