A controlled trial of personal construct psychotherapy for deliberate self-harm.
Evidence for the effectiveness of psychological therapies for people who self-harm is limited. Personal construct theory provides a model of self-harm and a framework for therapeutic intervention, which was evaluated in the present study. Sixty-four adults presenting to Accident and Emergency departments following self-harm were allocated to a personal construct psychotherapy or a 'normal clinical practice' condition. They completed various measures at assessment points pre- and post-therapy. Repetition of self-harm was assessed over a 3-year period. Participants in the intervention condition showed significantly greater reduction in suicidal ideation, hopelessness and depression post-treatment than the control group; and significantly more reconstruing at this point and 6-month follow-up. There was some evidence suggestive of a lower frequency of repetition of self-harm in the intervention than in the control group. It is concluded that brief personal construct psychotherapy may be effective for people who self-harm and merits further exploration.
Winter
David
D
Barnet, Enfield and Haringey Mental Health NHS Trust, UK. d.winter@herts.ac.uk
Sireling
Lester
L
Riley
Tony
T
Metcalfe
Christopher
C
Quaite
Ash
A
Bhandari
Suchitra
S
D000328:Adult; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D017060:Patient Satisfaction / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D018187:Personal Construct Theory; D011575:Psychoanalytic Therapy / Q000379:methods*; D016728:Self-Injurious Behavior / Q000523:psychology / Q000628:therapy*; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D006113:United Kingdom