title: Dialectical behaviour therapy skills training compared to standard group therapy in borderline personality disorder: a 3-month randomised controlled clinical trial.
abstract: Dialectical behaviour therapy (DBT) has proven to be an effective treatment in borderline personality disorder (BPD). However, the effectiveness in BPD of DBT skills training (DBT-ST) alone is not known. This study aimed at comparing the efficacy of DBT-ST and standard group therapy (SGT) for outpatients with BPD. Sixty patients meeting the DSM-IV diagnostic criteria for BPD, as assessed by two semi-structured diagnostic interviews, were included in a 3-month, single-blind randomised controlled trial. A total of 13 weekly group psychotherapy sessions of 120 min of either SGT or DBT-ST were conducted. Assessments were carried out every 2 weeks by two blinded evaluators. Observer-rater, self-report scales and behavioural reports were used as outcome measures. DBT-ST was associated with lower dropout rates, 34.5% compared to 63.4% with SGT. It was superior to SGT in improving several mood and emotion areas, such as: depression, anxiety, irritability, anger and affect instability. A reduction in general psychiatric symptoms was also observed. Three-months weekly DBT-ST proved useful. This therapy was associated with greater clinical improvements and lower dropout rates than SGT. DBT-ST seems to play a role in the overall improvement of BPD seen with standard DBT intervention. It allows straightforward implementation in a wide range of mental health settings and provides the additional advantage that it is cost effective.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Santa Creu i Sant Pau Hospital, Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Salud Mental, CIBERSAM, St. Antoni M. Claret, 167, Barcelona 08025, Spain. jsolerri@santpau.cat
authors.forename: Joaquim
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Soler
authors.forename: Juan Carlos
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Pascual
authors.forename: Thaïs
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Tiana
authors.forename: Anabel
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Cebrià
authors.forename: Judith
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Barrachina
authors.forename: M Josefa
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Campins
authors.forename: Ignasi
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Gich
authors.forename: Enrique
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Alvarez
authors.forename: Víctor
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Pérez
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001521:Behavior Therapy / Q000379:methods*; D001883:Borderline Personality Disorder / Q000628:therapy*; D039721:Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010349:Patient Compliance; D011615:Psychotherapy, Group / Q000379:methods*; D016037:Single-Blind Method; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D055815:Young Adult