Is the residential combined (psychotherapy plus medication) treatment of patients with severe personality disorder effective in terms of suicidality and impulsivity?
The aim of this study was to compare the effectiveness of combined treatment-medication plus psychodynamic psychotherapy-and psychodynamic psychotherapy alone on the outcome variables of suicidality and impulsivity in a population of adult inpatients with severe personality disorder (SPD). This is a naturalistic-empirical (observational) study under the conditions of clinical practice (an intensive specialized inpatient psychotherapeutic program [SIPP]). The sample consisted of 33 inpatients with SPD who were allocated to two subgroups (groups A and B). The patients in group A received psychodynamic psychotherapy and adjunctive pharmacotherapy, whereas the patients in group B received multimodal psychodynamic psychotherapy only. A statistically significant reduction in suicidality score was observed in the patients in group A, whereas a tendency for significant reduction in impulsivity score was observed in group B after the SIPP termination. Pharmacotherapy combined with multimodal psychodynamic psychotherapy, always within the SIPP, seems more effective in the case of suicidality rather than impulsivity.
*Personality Disorders Clinical Unit, 1st Department of Psychiatry, Athens University Medical School, Eginition Hospital, Athens, Greece; and †Department of Midwifery, Technological Educational Institution of Athens, Athens, Greece.
Grigorios
G
Vaslamatzis
Panayiotis
P
Theodoropoulos
Stamatia
S
Vondikaki
Hara
H
Karamanolaki
Myrto
M
MiliaTsanira
Kleanthi
K
Gourounti
D000328:Adult; D003131:Combined Modality Therapy / Q000379:methods; D015897:Comorbidity; D003866:Depressive Disorder / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000628:therapy; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007175:Impulsive Behavior / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000628:therapy*; D007297:Inpatients; D008297:Male; D010554:Personality Disorders / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000628:therapy*; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D064889:Psychotherapy, Psychodynamic / Q000379:methods*; D012114:Residential Treatment / Q000379:methods; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D013405:Suicide / Q000523:psychology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D055815:Young Adult; D000092864:Suicide Prevention