Borderline personality disorder (BPD) is a heterogeneous condition that is particularly associated with three broad personality dimensions: neuroticism (i.e., high negative affectivity), agreeableness (i.e., low antagonism), and conscientiousness (i.e., low disinhibition). The purpose of the present study was to explore whether treatment with BPD Compass, a novel personality-based intervention for BPD, results in greater reductions in BPD symptoms, neuroticism, agreeableness, and conscientiousness compared to a waitlist control (WLC) condition. We also aimed to characterize within-treatment effects for participants assigned to the BPD Compass condition and evaluate patients' satisfaction with treatment. Participants (N = 51; M age = 28.38; 83.3% female; 93.8% White; 54.2% sexual minority) meeting DSM-5 criteria for BPD were enrolled in a randomized controlled trial to evaluate the efficacy of BPD Compass. Patients were randomly assigned to receive 18 sessions of BPD Compass or complete an 18-week waiting period. BPD Compass led to larger reductions in BPD symptoms (assessor-rated [β = −0.47] and self-reported [β = −0.62]) and neuroticism (β = −0.37), but not agreeableness (β = 0.08) or conscientiousness (β = 0.10), compared to the WLC condition. Within the BPD Compass condition, pre-to posttreatment improvements in BPD symptoms, neuroticism, and conscientiousness were significant and large in magnitude (Hedges' gs: −1.38 to −1.08). Patients were highly satisfied with BPD Compass and generally perceived it to be an appropriate length. Thus, BPD Compass may be an accessible and useful complement to more specialty or intensive treatments for BPD.
Given that over 20 million adults each year do not receive care for their mental health difficulties, it is imperative to improve system-level capacity issues by increasing treatment efficiency. The present study aimed to collect feasibility/acceptability data on two strategies for increasing the efficiency of cognitive behavioral therapy: (1) personalized skill sequences and (2) personalized skill selections. Participants (N = 70) with anxiety and depressive disorders were enrolled in a pilot sequential multiple assignment randomized trial (SMART). Patients were randomly assigned to receive skill modules from the Unified Protocol in one of three sequencing conditions: standard, sequences that prioritized patients' relative strengths, and sequences that prioritized relative deficits. Participants also underwent a second-stage randomization to either receive 6 sessions or 12 sessions of treatment. Participants were generally satisfied with the treatment they received, though significant differences favored the Capitalization and Full duration conditions. There were no differences in trajectories of improvement as a function of sequencing condition. There were also no differences in end-of-study outcomes between brief personalized treatment and full standard treatment. Thus, it may be feasible to deliver CBT for personalized durations, though this may not substantially impact trajectories of change in anxiety or depressive symptoms.
Effort on this project was supported by the NIDA (T32 DA035200). This publication's contents are solely the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official views of NIH. Data described in this manuscript represents an interim report of person-level analyses from an ongoing clinical trial; data are not available to share as the trial is not yet completed.
Given that over 20 million adults each year do not receive care for their mental health difficulties, it is imperative to improve system-level capacity issues by increasing treatment efficiency. The present study aimed to collect feasibility/acceptability data on two strategies for increasing the efficiency of cognitive behavioral therapy: (1) personalized skill sequences and (2) personalized skill selections. Participants (N = 70) with anxiety and depressive disorders were enrolled in a pilot sequential multiple assignment randomized trial (SMART). Patients were randomly assigned to receive skill modules from the Unified Protocol in one of three sequencing conditions: standard, sequences that prioritized patients’ relative strengths, and sequences that prioritized relative deficits. Participants also underwent a second-stage randomization to either receive 6 sessions or 12 sessions of treatment. Participants were generally satisfied with the treatment they received, though significant differences favored the Capitalization and Full duration conditions. There were no differences in trajectories of improvement as a function of sequencing condition. There were also no differences in end-of-study outcomes between brief personalized treatment and full standard treatment. Thus, it may be feasible to deliver CBT for personalized durations, though this may not substantially impact trajectories of change in anxiety or depressive symptoms.
Aversive reactivity to negative affect has been described as a transdiagnostic mechanism that links distal temperamental vulnerabilities to clinically relevant behaviors. However, the abundance of constructs reflecting aversive reactivity has resulted in a proliferation of models that may ultimately be redundant. We performed a circumscribed review of studies measuring associations between six constructs – anxiety sensitivity, experiential avoidance, distress intolerance, intolerance of uncertainty, thought-action fusion, and negative urgency – and ten relevant coping behaviors. Results suggested that most constructs were measured in relation to a limited number of coping behaviors. Additionally, constructs were most often measured in isolation, rather than with similar constructs. Implications and suggestions for future research and treatment are discussed.
In Linehan's (1993) biosocial theory, borderline personality disorder (BPD) results in part from frequent, intense, negative emotions and maladaptive behavioral responses to those emotions. We conducted a secondary data analysis of an intensive single-case experimental design to explore hourly relations among behavioral responses and emotions in BPD. Eight participants with BPD (Mage = 21.57, 63% female; 63% Asian) reported their emotions and behaviors hourly on two days. Participants reported a neutral-to-negative average emotional state with substantial variability each day. This emotional state was characterized most frequently by anxiety and joy. Participants tended to "dig into", or savor, experiences of joy, but problem-solve around, push away, or accept anxiety. Acceptance predicted hour-by-hour increases in negative emotion intensity, and pushing emotions away predicted hour-by-hour increases in positive emotion intensity. These results suggest that anxiety dominates the emotional experiences of people with BPD and co-occurs with a variety of emotion regulation strategies, while joy co-occurs with strategies designed to prolong emotional experiences. Despite its general adaptiveness, acceptance may be less effective, and pushing emotions away may be more effective, than other emotion regulation strategies at improving momentary negative emotions for those with BPD. We discuss the preliminary nature of these findings and encourage future researchers to build on them in larger samples with more severe presentations of BPD.
Borderline personality disorder (BPD) is a heterogenous condition and variations in its presentation may be accounted for by individual differences in personality dimensions. Extant treatments for BPD are long-term and intensive; it is possible that prioritizing the personality-based difficulties that underlie an individual’s symptoms may improve the efficiency of care. This manuscript describes the conceptual background for the development of a novel, personality-based intervention for BPD (BPD Compass) informed by recent research on personality mechanisms maintaining this condition to address gaps left by existing treatments and be maximally efficient and disseminable. BPD Compass is a comprehensive, short-term package with a fully modular design that allows for personalization (e.g., all skills can be presented in isolation or in any order based on pre-treatment assessment). We discuss the theoretical background for its development, an overview of the skills included in the treatment, as well as preliminary efficacy data.
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