Treatment of Suicidal Women With Borderline Personality Disorder

Assessment and Treatment of Parasuicidal Patients

This study is a component analysis of dialectical behavior therapy (DBT) to determine the importance of DBT skills training and DBT individual therapy in treating suicidal women with borderline personality disorder.

People with borderline personality disorder have limited behavioral skills and react abnormally to emotional stimulation. Standard dialectical behavior therapy (SDBT) has been shown to be an effective treatment for borderline personality disorder. This treatment combines weekly group sessions, at which patients learn new ways of dealing with their emotions, with weekly individual sessions with a therapist to discuss their emotions. The study compares SDBT to both individual DBT with no skills training and DBT skills training with no individual therapy. The study will determine whether efficacy of standard DBT is reduced when either DBT skills training or individual DBT therapy is removed.

Participants are randomly assigned to receive 1 year of SDBT, DBT with group sessions but no individual sessions, and DBT with individual sessions with no group sessions. Participants are monitored for 1 year after completing their assigned therapy. Throughout the 1-year study and during the 1-year follow-up period, self-report scales and questionnaires are used to assess participants every 4 months. These scales and questionnaires measure participants' suicidal thoughts and attempts, treatment compliance, emotional coping skills, social functioning, and overall well-being.

Inclusion Criteria:

• Diagnosis of BPD
• At least one suicide attempt in the year prior to study entry AND at least one intentional self-injury within the 8 weeks prior to study entry
• Willing and able to comply with all study requirements

Exclusion Criteria:

• IQ less than 70
• Life-threatening anorexia
• Street homelessness with no contact information
• Admittance to a hospital with no expectation of discharge within 3 weeks prior to study entry OR sentenced to a jail or prison term that will last for more than 3 weeks
• Ordered by the court to receive psychological treatment
• Meet DSM-IV criteria for schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, or seizure disorder
• Medical conditions other than BPD that may interfere with the study