Combined therapy with interpersonal psychotherapy adapted for borderline personality disorder: A two-years follow-up

Abstract

Highlights IPT-BPD plus drug was superior to single drug after 32 weeks trial. Difference persisted at 24 months follow-up for impulsivity and relationships. It also persisted for perception of psychological and social functioning. Differences concerning anxiety and affective instability were lost after 6 months. The most of benefits of combining IPT-BPD endured two years after termination. AbstractFew investigations evaluated the long-term effects of psychotherapies in borderline personality disorder (BPD). In a previous study, we compared efficacy of combination of Index (BPDSI) were repeated at 6, 12, and 24 months. Statistical analysis was performed with the general linear model. Results showed that most of the differences between combined therapy and single pharmacotherapy at the end of the 32 weeks trial were maintained after 24 months follow-up. The addition of IPT-BPD to medication produced greater effects on BPD symptoms (impulsivity and interpersonal relationships) and quality of life (perception of psychological and social functioning) that endured after termination of psychotherapy. On the contrary, different effects on anxiety symptoms and affective instability were lost after 6 months.

Pharmacotherapy of personality disorders: what we know and what we have to search for

“…Results showed that patients treated with the combination of fluoxetine and DBP did not evidence any additional benefits over placebo + DBT treatment on self-report measures of depression, anxiety, anger, dissociation, and global functioning. Different findings were obtained by two controlled studies [30,31] aimed to evaluate the short and long-term efficacy of combined therapy with fluoxetine (20-40 mg/day) and Interpersonal Psychotherapy adapted to BPD (IPT-BPD) in a sample of 55 BPD outpatients. In particular, combined therapy with adapted IPT was found superior to single fluoxetine after 32 weeks of treatment, concerning core symptoms of the disorder (interpersonal relationships, affective instability, and impulsivity), anxiety, and quality of life [30].…”

“…Whilst fluoxetine received the greatest research attention out of SSRIs tested, [25][26][27][28][29][30][31], only one report of the efficacy of fluvoxamine and one of treatment with sertraline have been published to date [32,33].…”

“…Other controlled studies were performed to evaluate the efficacy of the combination of fluoxetine with psychotherapeutic interventions in comparison with psychotherapy plus placebo [28], or fluoxetine monotherapy [30,31]. One blind placebo-controlled trial tested the efficacy of the association of fluoxetine (40 mg/day) and Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT) versus placebo plus DBT in a sample of 20 females with BPD.…”

“…Forty-four patients who completed the 32 weeks trial underwent 24 months of follow-up receiving all fluoxetine 20-40 mg/day. The most of the differences between combined therapy and 7 single pharmacotherapy were maintained after two years of follow-up [31]. Fluoxetine was also studied in comparison with an active drug [29], in a RCT aimed to evaluated the efficacy of three type of treatments: fluoxetine in monotherapy (15 mg/day), olanzapine in monotherapy (2.5 mg/day), and the association of both drugs.…”

Interpersonal Psychotherapy Adapted for Borderline Personality Disorder (IPT-BPD): A Review of Available Data and a Proposal of Revision

“…The second of our studies [42] was aimed to verify whether the benefits from the addition of interpersonal psychotherapy to pharmacotherapy after 32 weeks of treatment persisted during a follow-up period of two years after termination of psychotherapy. Forty-four patients who completed the 32 weeks trial (22 who received combined therapy and 22 who received single fluoxetine) underwent 24 months of follow-up.…”