Outcome of Psychoanalytically Oriented Outpatient Treatment of Borderline Personality Disorder

Abstract

This study examines the outcome of up to fifteen months of psychoanalytically oriented psychotherapy (primarily based on object relations and attachment theory) for patients with borderline personality disorder. Nineteen patients with borderline personality disorder, diagnosed by an experienced psychiatrist as part of the general clinical evaluation, were offered two years of treatment in an outpatient setting. Treatment included individual psychoanalytic psychotherapy, psychoanalytic group therapy, and group-based psychoeducation. Outcome was measured with a battery of self-report questionnaires: the Beck Anxiety Index (BAI), the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), and the Symptom Check-List (SCL-90-R). Analyses focused primarily on the first fifteen months of treatment. The dropout rate was relatively high, but patients who remained in treatment (N=11) reported statistically significant positive changes in levels of anxiety and depression and general level of functioning. We found no significant differences between the group of patients who remained in treatment and those who dropped out. Follow-up data for up to 32 months indicated not only that the positive changes observed were maintained, but that patients who completed at least fifteen months of treatment reported additional improvements in the follow-up period.