title: Mindfulness skills in borderline personality disorder patients during dialectical behavior therapy: preliminary results.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  One of the components of dialectical behavior therapy (DBT) is the use of mindfulness skills as a core component of treatment for subjects with borderline personality disorder (BPD). In this study, we investigated changes in and correlates of mindfulness skills over a 1-year follow-up including a 4-week session of intensive DBT followed by 10 months of standard DBT.
  
  
  METHODS
  Fifty-two BPD subjects were assessed several times using the Kentucky Inventory of Mindfulness Skills (KIMS) which describes mindfulness in four discrete dimensions: observing (Obs), describing (Des), acting with awareness (AwA) and accepting without judgment (AwJ).
  
  
  RESULTS
  AwJ was the only dimension that increased significantly over time after adjustment for potential confounding factors (β = 0.24; P = 0.0002). Increases in AwJ correlated with improvement in BPD symptoms.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This study highlights the usefulness of investigating changes in mindfulness dimensions during DBT. AwJ is a possible mechanism for positive change. Encouraging this skill should lead to a more adaptive response to problematic situations and counteract impulsive and problematic behaviors. The lack of specific control groups means that these findings are preliminary and replication is required.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry and Mental Health, University Hospitals of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland. nader.perroud@hcuge.ch
authors.forename: Nader
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Perroud
authors.forename: Rosetta
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Nicastro
authors.forename: Françoise
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Jermann
authors.forename: Philippe
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Huguelet
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001364:Awareness; D001521:Behavior Therapy / Q000379:methods*; D001883:Borderline Personality Disorder / Q000523:psychology / Q000628:therapy*; D056348:Emotional Intelligence; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D007600:Judgment; D016014:Linear Models; D008297:Male; D019122:Meditation / Q000379:methods* / Q000523:psychology; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D057566:Self Report; D013997:Time Factors; D016896:Treatment Outcome