Examining the Effect of Psychological Interventions in the Treatment of   Individuals with Borderline Personality Disorder

Mahdi Aliyari

doi:10.63053/ijhes.79

Authors

Mahdi Aliyari Management Department, Business Management Major, Islamic Azad University, Central Tehran Branch, Iran

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.63053/ijhes.79

Keywords:

Borderline Personality Disorder, Mindfulness-Based Therapy, Emotion Regulation, Psychological Symptoms

Abstract

Mindfulness-based therapy is a modified form of cognitive therapy that uses mindfulness practices such as awareness of present moment, meditation, and breathing exercises. This therapy was innitially formulated to address depression. However, this research was conducted with the aim of determining the effectiveness of mindfulness-based therapy on improving psychological symptoms and emotion regulation in individuals with borderline personality disorder. The current study was a semi-experimental study with a pre-test, post-test, follow-up design and a control group. The research sample consisted of 40 women diagnosed with borderline personality disorder at a psychiatric hospital in Tehran, selected through purposive sampling and randomly assigned to two groups: experimental group (20 individuals) and control group (20 individuals). Participants completed the Emotion Regulation Questionnaire and the Psychological Symptoms Questionnaire in the pre-test, post-test, and follow-up stages. The participants in the experimental group underwent 20 sessions of mindfulness-based therapy. The results showed that mindfulness-based therapy had a significant effect on improving psychological symptoms and emotion regulation in individuals with borderline personality disorder (p < 0.001). The results also indicated that mindfulness-based therapy leads to an increase in positive strategies and a decrease in negative strategies of emotion regulation in the post-test stage, and this effect persists in the follow-up stage.

References

• Antoine, P., Dauvier, B., Andreotti, E., & Congard, A. (2018). Individual differences in the effects of a positive psychology intervention. Applied Psychology: Personality and Individual Differences, 122, 140-147.

• Bateman, A., & Fonagy, P. (2009). Randomized controlled trial of outpatient mentalization-based treatment versus structured clinical management for borderline personality disorder. American Journal of Psychiatry, 166(12), 1355-1364.

• Bateman, A. W., & Fonagy, P. (2012). Handbook of mentalization in mental health practice. Washington, DC: American Psychiatric Publishing, 419-444.

• Bateman, A., & Fonagy, P. (2013). Impact of clinical severity on outcomes of mentalization-based treatment for borderline personality disorder. British Journal of Psychiatry, 203(3), 221-227.

• Ben-Porath, D. D., Peterson, G. A., & Smee, J. (2004). Treatment of individuals with borderline personality disorder using dialectical behavior therapy in a community mental health setting: Clinical application and a preliminary investigation. Cognitive and Behavioral Practice, 11, 424434.

• Bigdeli, A., Najafi, M., & Rostami, M. (2013). The Relationship between Attachment Styles, Emotional Regulation, and Resilience with Psychological Well-being in Medical Sciences Students. Iranian Journal of Medical Education, 14(9), 721-729.

• Chafos, V. H., & Economou, P. (2014). Beyond borderline personality disorder: the mindful brain. Social Work, swu030.

• Chapman, A. L., Gratz, K. L., & Brown, M. Z. (2006). Solving the puzzle of deliberate self-harm: The experiential avoidance model. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 44(3), 371-394.

• Davey, G. (2008). Psychopathology: Research, assessment and treatment in clinical psychology. Wiley Blackwell.

• Derogatis, L. R., Rickels, K., & Rock, A. F. (1976). The SCL-90 and the MMPI: A step in the validation of a new self-report scale. The British Journal of Psychiatry, 128(3), 280-290.

• Edel, M. A., Raaff, V., Dimaggio, G., Buchheim, A., & Brune, M. (2017). Exploring the effectiveness of combined mentalization-based group therapy and dialectical behavior therapy for inpatients with borderline personality disorder - A pilot study. British Journal of Clinical Psychology, 56(1), 1-15.

• First, M., Spitzer, R., Gibbon, M., & Williams, J. B. (1997). Structured clinical interview for DSM-IV Axis I disorders (clinician version) SCID-I administration booklet. Washington, DC: American Psychiatric Publishing.

• Garnefski, N., Kraaij, V., & Spinhoven, P. (2001). Negative life events, cognitive emotion regulation and emotional problems. Personality and Individual Differences, 30, 1311-1327.

• Ghahari, S., Farhanghi, Z., & Gheytarani, B. (2017). The effectiveness of teaching positive psychology on dysfunctional attitudes and emotional self-regulation of withdrawing addicts. European Psychiatry, 41, 405464.

• Gunderson, J. G. (2009). Borderline personality disorder: A clinical guide. American Psychiatric Publishing.

• Hayes, S. C. (2004). Acceptance and commitment therapy, relational frame theory, and the third wave of behavioral and cognitive therapies. Behavior Therapy, 35(4), 639-665.

• Kabat-Zinn, J. (2003). Mindfulness-based interventions in context: past, present, and future. Clinical Psychology: Science and Practice, 10(2), 144-156.

• Khanjani, M. (2017). The Effectiveness of Positive Psychology Therapy on Life Satisfaction, Optimism, and Positive Emotions in Students. Journal of Clinical Psychology Studies, March 2019.

• Lieb, K., Zanarini, M. C., Schmahl, C., Linehan, M. M., & Bohus, M. (2004). Borderline personality disorder. The Lancet, 364(1), 453461.

• Lobbestael, J., & Arntz, A. (2010). Disentangling the relationship between different types of childhood maltreatment and personality disorders. Journal of Personality Disorders, 24(3), 285-295.

• Najarian, B., & Davoudi, A. (2001). Construction and Crediting SCL-25 (Shortened Form SCL-90). Journal of Psychoanalysis, 5(2), 136-149.

• Sadeghi Movahhed, F. (2006). Prevalence of Psychiatric Disorders in People Referred to Psychiatry Commission of Fatemi Hospital, Ardabil. Journal of Ardabil University of Medical Sciences, 6(4), 387-391.

• Seligman, M. E., Rashid, T., & Parks, A. C. (2006). Positive psychotherapy. American Psychologist, 61(8), 774-789.

• Sharifi, V., Asadi, M., Mohammadi, M., Amini, H., Kaviani, H., Semnani, Y., et al. (2006). Reliability and feasibility of implementing the Persian version of the diagnostic structured interview for DSM-IV (SCID). Advances in Cognitive Science.

• Wupperman, P., Fickling, M., Klemanski, D. H., Berking, M., & Whitman, J. B. (2013). Borderline personality features and harmful dysregulated behavior: The mediational effect of mindfulness. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 69(9), 903-911.

• Zanarini, M. C. (2012). Diagnostic specificity and long-term prospective course of borderline personality disorder. Psychiatric Annals, 42(2), 53-58.