Psychoanalytically oriented day hospital therapy, later manualized and named mentalization-based treatment (MBT), has proven to be a (cost-) effective treatment for patients with severe borderline personality disorder and a high degree of psychiatric comorbidity (BPD) in the United Kingdom (UK). As to yet it has not been shown whether manualized day hospital MBT would yield similar results when conducted by an independent institute outside the UK. We investigated the applicability and treatment outcome of 18-month, manualized day hospital MBT in the Netherlands by means of a prospective cohort study with 45 Dutch patients with severe BPD and a high degree of comorbid Axis I and Axis II disorders. Outcomes were assessed each six months. Symptom distress, social and interpersonal functioning, and personality pathology and functioning all improved significantly, with effect sizes between 0.7 and 1.7. Suicide attempts, acts of self-harm, and care consumption were also significantly reduced. The results indicate that MBT can effectively be implemented in an independent treatment institute outside the UK. This study also supports the clinical effectiveness of manualized day hospital MBT in patients with severe BPD and a high degree of psychiatric comorbidity.

BackgroundThe borderline personality disorder (BPD) population is notably heterogeneous, and this has potentially important implications for intervention. Identifying distinct subtypes of patients may represent a first step in identifying which treatments work best for which individuals.MethodsA cluster-analysis on dimensional personality disorder (PD) features, as assessed with the SCID-II, was performed on a sample of carefully screened BPD patients (N = 187) referred for mentalization-based treatment. The optimal cluster solution was determined using multiple indices of fit. The validity of the clusters was explored by investigating their relationship with borderline pathology, symptom severity, interpersonal problems, quality of life, personality functioning, attachment, and trauma history, in addition to demographic and clinical features.ResultsA three-cluster solution was retained, which identified three clusters of BPD patients with distinct profiles. The largest cluster (n = 145) consisted of patients characterized by “core BPD” features, without marked elevations on other PD dimensions. A second “Extravert/externalizing” cluster of patients (n = 27) was characterized by high levels of histrionic, narcissistic, and antisocial features. A third, smaller “Schizotypal/paranoid” cluster (n = 15) consisted of patients with marked schizotypal and paranoid features. Patients in these clusters showed theoretically meaningful differences in terms of demographic and clinical features.ConclusionsThree meaningful subtypes of BPD patients were identified with distinct profiles. Differences were small, even when controlling for severity of PD pathology, suggesting a strong common factor underlying BPD. These results may represent a stepping stone toward research with larger samples aimed at replicating the findings and investigating differential trajectories of change, treatment outcomes, and treatment approaches for these subtypes.Trial registrationThe study was retrospectively registered 16 April 2010 in the Nederlands Trial Register, no. NTR2292.

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The present study extends the body of evidence regarding the effectiveness of day hospital Mentalization-Based Treatment (MBT) by documenting the treatment outcome of a highly inclusive group of severe borderline personality disorder (BPD) patients, benchmarked by a carefully matched group who received other specialized psychotherapeutic treatments (OPT). Structured diagnostic interviews were conducted to assess diagnostic status at baseline. Baseline, 18-month treatment outcome and 36-month treatment outcome (after the maintenance phase) on psychiatric symptoms (Brief Symptom Inventory) and personality functioning (118-item Severity Indices of Personality Problems) were available for 29 BPD patients assigned to MBT, and an initial set of 175 BPD patients assigned to OPT. Propensity scores were used to determine the best matches for the MBT patients within the larger OPT group, yielding 29 MBT and 29 OPT patients for direct comparison. Treatment outcome was analysed using multilevel modelling. Pre to post effect sizes were consistently (very) large for MBT, with a Cohen's d of -1.06 and -1.42 for 18 and 36 months, respectively, for the reduction in psychiatric symptoms, and ds ranging from 0.81 to 2.08 for improvement in domains of personality functioning. OPT also yielded improvement across domains but generally of moderate magnitude. In conclusion, the present matched control study, executed by an independent research institute outside the UK, demonstrated the effectiveness of day hospital MBT in a highly inclusive and severe group of BPD patients, beyond the benchmark provided by a mix of specialized psychotherapy programmes. Interpretation of the (large) between condition effects warrants cautionary caveats given the non-randomized design, as well as variation in treatment dosages.