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N/A N=8 Randomized Treatment

Isolating Mechanisms in the Treatment of Borderline Personality Disorder

Borderline Personality Disorder

Enrolled (actual)
8
Serious AEs
0.0%
Results posted
Nov 2022
Primary outcome: Primary: Multidimensional Experiential Avoidance Questionnaire - Distress Aversion Subscale — 23.21; 23.21; 19.93; 19.93 score on a scale

Study Design & Population

Study type
Interventional
Phase
N/A
Interventions
Countering Emotional Behaviors Module from Unified Protocol (Other)
Age
Adult, Older Adult · 18+ yrs
Sex
All
Sponsor
Boston University Charles River Campus
Primary completion
Aug 2020

Outcome Measures

OutcomeResultp-value
PRIMARY
Multidimensional Experiential Avoidance Questionnaire - Distress Aversion Subscale
23.21; 23.21; 19.93; 19.93
SECONDARY
Zanarini Rating Scale for BPD
9.59; 9.59; 7.12; 7.12

Summary

Borderline personality disorder (BPD) is a commonly occurring, severe, and costly condition that interferes greatly with quality of life. Considerable comorbidity with other disorders and existing multicomponent treatments with largely untested putative mechanisms of action represent obstacles for effective dissemination of BPD treatment; in light of this gap, the purpose of the present study is to isolate the effects of individual treatment components on putative mechanisms implicated in both BPD. This study will answer important theoretical questions about the mechanism of treatment change, and might lead to more efficacious, cost-effective, and easily disseminable treatment strategies for BPD, a severe and understudied disorder.

Eligibility Criteria

Inclusion Criteria

  • Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (5th Edition; DSM-5) diagnosis of borderline personality disorder;
  • willing to maintain a stable dose on prescribed psychotropic medication throughout the study duration. This avoids problems with reluctance to discontinue or difficulty with discontinuing, and also the confounding of outcomes from initiation of medication during treatment; this procedure is a longstanding practice at the Center for Anxiety and Related Disorders (CARD) at Boston University for treatment outcome research. Additionally, participants must be
  • fluent in English.

Exclusion Criteria

In order to maximize generalizability, exclusion criteria are based solely on the well-being of the participant and will consist primarily of conditions that would require prioritization for immediate treatment (e.g., severe suicidality or substance dependence). These include:

  • Current DSM-5 diagnoses of bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, schizoaffective disorder, or organic mental disorder;
  • Clear and current suicidal risk (intent);
  • Current or recent (within 3 months) history of drug dependence;
  • Willingness to refrain from additional psychosocial treatment across the course of the study; and
  • has access to own smartphone.
View full record on ClinicalTrials.gov →

Data sourced from ClinicalTrials.gov (NCT03408860). Outcome figures and adverse-event rates are extracted automatically from the registry's posted results and are provided for clinician reference, not as a substitute for the primary publication.

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