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Short R, Jolliffe D, Carter B, Campbell C. Mediators of change in psychological interventions for adult offenders with personality disorders: A scoping review of the literature. Personal Ment Health 2024; 18:177-187. [PMID: 38425242 DOI: 10.1002/pmh.1606] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/23/2023] [Revised: 01/09/2024] [Accepted: 01/31/2024] [Indexed: 03/02/2024]
Abstract
Offenders with personality disorder cause disproportionate harm to society and pose significant challenges for those responsible for their care and rehabilitation. Personality disorders are heterogeneous in terms of symptoms, as well as their pathways to offending behaviour. Thus, there is limited evidence regarding effective interventions. One solution might be to focus on how interventions are delivered as well as what is delivered. Within the non-offender personality disorder literature, the identification of potential mediators of change has enabled interventions to focus on 'how' they are delivered (e.g., therapeutic alliance) rather than the intervention itself. We explore the evidence and present a scoping review of the available literature on the mechanisms of change in psychological treatments for offenders with personality disorder. Only one study was found in the scoping review, highlighting a significant gap in the evidence base. We discuss the implications of this finding and potential future directions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Roxanna Short
- Department of Forensic and Neurodevelopmental Sciences, King's College London, London, UK
- South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust, London, UK
| | - Darrick Jolliffe
- Department of Law and Criminology, Royal Holloway University of London, Egham, UK
| | - Ben Carter
- Department of Biostatistics and Health Informatics, King's College London, London, UK
| | - Colin Campbell
- Department of Forensic and Neurodevelopmental Sciences, King's College London, London, UK
- South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust, London, UK
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Euler S, Babl A, Dommann E, Stalujanis E, Labrish C, Kramer U, McMain S. Maladaptive defense mechanisms moderate treatment outcome in 6 months versus 12 months dialectical-behavior therapy for borderline personality disorder. Psychother Res 2024:1-17. [PMID: 38648578 DOI: 10.1080/10503307.2024.2334053] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/14/2023] [Accepted: 03/18/2024] [Indexed: 04/25/2024] Open
Abstract
OBJECTIVE We investigated whether defense mechanisms in patients with borderline personality disorder (BPD) predict treatment response of dialectical behavior therapy (DBT) and whether they moderate outcome in different treatment lengths. METHOD We analyzed a subsample of 60 outpatients with BPD, randomized into either 6 (n = 30) or 12 (n = 30) months of DBT. The average level of defensive adaptiveness, assessed with observer-rated overall defensive functioning (ODF) and "immature" (i.e., maladaptive) defenses were used as predictors and moderators of self-reported frequency of self-harm. We conducted a Generalized Linear Mixed Model (GLMM). RESULTS A lower ODF at treatment onset predicted smaller reductions in self-harm, irrespective of treatment length (IRR = 0.92, 95% CI = [0.86, 0.99], p = .020). Lower order "immature" ("major image distorting") defenses showed significantly smaller (IRR = 1.13, 95% CI = [1.06, 1.21], p < .001) and higher order "immature" ("minor image distorting") defenses showed significantly larger (IRR = .91, 95% CI = [.85, .97], p = .006) reductions in self harm in the 6-month but not in the 12-month treatment. CONCLUSION Even though the results have to be regarded as preliminary due to the small sample size, findings might indicate that patients with BPD and lower average defensive adaptiveness may benefit from individualized treatment plans including specific interventions targeting defense function.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sebastian Euler
- Department of Consultation Psychiatry and Psychosomatics, University Hospital of Zürich, Zürich, Switzerland
| | - Anna Babl
- Department of Clinical Psychology, Leiden University, Leiden, Netherlands
| | - Eliane Dommann
- Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy Department, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland
| | - Esther Stalujanis
- Department of Consultation Psychiatry and Psychosomatics, University Hospital of Zürich, Zürich, Switzerland
| | - Cathy Labrish
- Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH), Toronto, ON, Canada
| | - Ueli Kramer
- Department of Psychiatry, Institute of Psychotherapy, Lausanne University Hospital and University of Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Shelley McMain
- Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH), Toronto, ON, Canada
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada
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Euler S, Stalujanis E, Lindenmeyer HJ, Nicastro R, Kramer U, Perroud N, Weibel S. Impact of Childhood Maltreatment in Borderline Personality Disorder on Treatment Response to Intensive Dialectical Behavior Therapy. J Pers Disord 2021; 35:428-446. [PMID: 31887100 DOI: 10.1521/pedi_2019_33_461] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/27/2022]
Abstract
Childhood maltreatment (CM), including emotional, physical, and sexual abuse and emotional and physical neglect, is associated with severity of borderline personality disorder (BPD). However, knowledge on the impact of CM on treatment response is scarce. The authors investigated whether self-reported CM or one of its subtypes affected treatment retention, depressive symptoms, and impulsivity throughout short-term intensive dialectical behavior therapy (I-DBT) in 333 patients with BPD. Data were analyzed with linear and logistic regressions and linear mixed models, using a Bayesian approach. Patients who reported childhood emotional abuse had a higher dropout rate, whereas it was lower in patients who reported childhood emotional neglect. Emotional neglect predicted a greater decrease of depressive symptoms, and global CM predicted a greater decrease of impulsivity. The authors concluded that patients with BPD who experienced CM might benefit from I-DBT in specific symptom domains. Nonetheless, the impact of emotional abuse on higher dropout needs to be considered.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sebastian Euler
- Department of Consultation Psychiatry and Psychosomatics, University Hospital Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland.,Psychiatric University Hospital, University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland
| | - Esther Stalujanis
- Psychiatric University Hospital, University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland.,Division of Clinical Psychology and Psychiatry, Department of Psychology, University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland.,Division of Clinical Psychology and Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, International Psychoanalytic University, Berlin, Germany
| | - Hannah J Lindenmeyer
- Department of Counseling and Clinical Psychology, Teachers College, Columbia University, New York, New York, and Department of Psychiatry, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, New York
| | - Rosetta Nicastro
- TRE Unit, Division of Psychiatric Specialties, Department of Mental Health and Psychiatry, Geneva University Hospitals, Geneva, Switzerland
| | - Ueli Kramer
- Lausanne University Hospital and University of Lausanne, Switzerland, and Department of Psychology, University of Windsor, Windsor, Canada
| | - Nader Perroud
- TRE Unit, Division of Psychiatric Specialties, Department of Mental Health and Psychiatry, Geneva University Hospitals, Geneva, Switzerland.,Department of Psychiatry, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada
| | - Sébastien Weibel
- Department of Psychiatry and Addictology, University Hospital of Strasbourg, Strasbourg, France, and INSERM U1114, Strasbourg, France
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Mehlum L. Mechanisms of change in dialectical behaviour therapy for people with borderline personality disorder. Curr Opin Psychol 2021; 37:89-93. [DOI: 10.1016/j.copsyc.2020.08.017] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/03/2020] [Revised: 08/12/2020] [Accepted: 08/16/2020] [Indexed: 01/03/2023]
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Wrege JS, Busmann M, Meyer AH, Euler S, Lang UE, Walter M. Impulsiveness in borderline personality disorder predicts the long-term outcome of a psychodynamic treatment programme. Clin Psychol Psychother 2020; 28:633-641. [PMID: 33119970 DOI: 10.1002/cpp.2526] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/18/2020] [Revised: 10/19/2020] [Accepted: 10/20/2020] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Abstract
Despite the preponderance of treatment outcome predictors in patients with borderline personality disorder (BPD), the predictive value of measures of impulsiveness is inconclusive. This naturalistic study consecutively included hospitalized patients with BPD (N = 99) who underwent a standardized and structured 12-week inpatient treatment programme, which integrated cognitive-behavioural and psychodynamic elements. The Brief Symptom Checklist (BSCL) was applied as outcome measure over four time points: pretreatment, posttreatment, first follow-up at 6 to 8 weeks and second follow-up at 1 year after discharge. Impulsiveness was measured using the Barratt Impulsiveness Scale (BIS) at the pretreatment time point. The BSCL significantly decreased between pretreatment and posttreatment, followed by an increase after posttreatment without reaching pretreatment extent. The temporal course of the BSCL significantly varied with pretreatment BIS in that patients with higher impulsiveness revealed a stronger re-increase of symptom severity from posttreatment to end of follow-up than those with lower impulsiveness. The least impulsive patients thereby showed no rebound effect. The robustness of the results was examined by cross-validation. The results indicate that irrespective of the level of impulsiveness, patients with BPD profit from a structured inpatient treatment. However, long-term treatment success was impaired in patients with high level of impulsiveness at pretreatment. Thus, self-ratings of impulsiveness in BPD patients can be utilized for treatment planning. After discontinuation of interventions, relapse prevention should be implemented early in high impulsive patients as symptoms recrudesce in the course after discharge.
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Affiliation(s)
- Johannes S Wrege
- Department of Psychosomatic and Psychotherapy, Psychiatric University Hospital Basel, Basel, Switzerland
| | - Mareike Busmann
- Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Psychosomatics and Psychotherapy, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany
| | - Andrea H Meyer
- Department of Psychology, University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland
| | - Sebastian Euler
- Department of Consultation Psychiatry and Psychosomatics, University Hospital Zürich, Zürich, Switzerland
| | - Undine E Lang
- Department of Psychosomatic and Psychotherapy, Psychiatric University Hospital Basel, Basel, Switzerland
| | - Marc Walter
- Department of Psychosomatic and Psychotherapy, Psychiatric University Hospital Basel, Basel, Switzerland
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Defense Mechanisms, Gender, and Adaptiveness in Emerging Personality Disorders in Adolescent Outpatients. J Nerv Ment Dis 2020; 208:933-941. [PMID: 32947450 DOI: 10.1097/nmd.0000000000001230] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/28/2022]
Abstract
The present study focused on demographic and personality differences in the use of 30 defense mechanisms in adolescents with personality psychopathology and explored the hierarchical organization of personality traits based on the adaptiveness of defensive functioning. A total of 102 self-referred adolescent outpatients were interviewed and assessed on defense mechanisms and personality traits using the Defense Mechanisms Rating Scales and the Shedler-Westen Assessment Procedure 200 for Adolescents, respectively. Age and gender differences were found throughout the hierarchy. Pearson's correlations revealed a hierarchical organization of emerging personality disorders (PDs) in adolescence. More adaptive defenses were clearly associated with healthier personality style, whereas more pathological personality styles such as those with borderline traits were characterized by more rigid and maladaptive defenses. Dissociation was also associated with maladaptive personality types. Identifying the defenses associated with emerging personality disorders may inform the unconscious function of defense mechanisms in specific PDs. The systematic assessment of defense mechanisms might also help therapists to monitor changes during treatment.
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Kramer U, Beuchat H, Grandjean L, Pascual-Leone A. How Personality Disorders Change in Psychotherapy: a Concise Review of Process. Curr Psychiatry Rep 2020; 22:41. [PMID: 32519017 DOI: 10.1007/s11920-020-01162-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/23/2023]
Abstract
PURPOSE OF REVIEW The present review summarizes the current state of the art in psychotherapy processes during treatments for clients with personality disorders. We outline some methodological challenges in the discipline of process research, give a brief historical account on process research, and then focus on specific processes studied from an empirical perspective. RECENT FINDINGS The current review acknowledges the centrality of the therapeutic relationship, in particular the therapeutic alliance, therapist empathy, and responsiveness in explaining outcome across treatment modalities for personality disorders. The review describes evidence from three overall and overlapping lines of inquiry that have garnered scientific interest in the past years. For emotional change (regulation, awareness, and transformation), socio-cognitive change (mentalizing, meta-cognition, and interpersonal patterns), and increase in insight and change in defense mechanisms, evidence is moderate to strong for these processes to contribute to healthy change in treatments for personality disorders, in particular borderline personality disorder. Avenues of future studies are outlined.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ueli Kramer
- Department of Psychiatry-CHUV, Institute of Psychotherapy, University of Lausanne, Place Chauderon 18, CH-1003, Lausanne, Switzerland. .,General Psychiatry Service, Department of Psychiatry-CHUV, University of Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland. .,Department of Psychology, University of Windsor, Windsor, Canada.
| | - Hélène Beuchat
- Department of Psychiatry-CHUV, Institute of Psychotherapy, University of Lausanne, Place Chauderon 18, CH-1003, Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Loris Grandjean
- Department of Psychiatry-CHUV, Institute of Psychotherapy, University of Lausanne, Place Chauderon 18, CH-1003, Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Antonio Pascual-Leone
- Department of Psychiatry-CHUV, Institute of Psychotherapy, University of Lausanne, Place Chauderon 18, CH-1003, Lausanne, Switzerland.,Department of Psychology, University of Windsor, Windsor, Canada
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Boldrini T, Lo Buglio G, Giovanardi G, Lingiardi V, Salcuni S. Defense mechanisms in adolescents at high risk of developing psychosis: an empirical investigation. RESEARCH IN PSYCHOTHERAPY (MILANO) 2020; 23:456. [PMID: 32913831 PMCID: PMC7451313 DOI: 10.4081/ripppo.2020.456] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/29/2020] [Accepted: 04/02/2020] [Indexed: 12/23/2022]
Abstract
Research within psychotherapy and psychopathology frameworks has been inspired by the central concept of defense mechanisms, which play a pivotal role in psychoanalysis. Defense specificities have only recently been studied systematically in the context of several clinical diagnoses. The present study aimed to explore the specificities of defense mechanisms in adolescents at ultra-high risk of developing psychosis and test the relationship between defensive functioning and attenuated psychotic symptoms. Twenty-six adolescent inpatients at ultra-high risk of developing psychosis and a matched clinical control group of inpatients not at risk of psychosis were interviewed. Two observer-rater methods, the Defense Mechanism Rating Scales and the Psychotic-Defense Mechanism Rating Scales were applied to interview transcripts to assess the individual use of defenses. Ultra-high-risk patients demonstrated lower defense mechanisms (i.e., total instances of defense mechanisms observed) and lower overall adaptiveness of the defenses presented. When specific differences between groups were observed, psychotic defenses were the sole defenses that could partially discriminate between ultra-high-risk and not at-risk patients. Regarding the relationship between defense mechanisms and subthreshold psychotic symptoms, psychotic defenses were associated with negative and disorganization symptoms, rather than with positive symptoms. The psychological vulnerability of ultra-high-risk patients is discussed and treatment implications for psychotherapy with such challenging patients are addressed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tommaso Boldrini
- Department of Developmental and Socialization Psychology, University of Padova, Padova
| | - Gabriele Lo Buglio
- Department of Developmental and Socialization Psychology, University of Padova, Padova
| | - Guido Giovanardi
- Department of Dynamic and Clinical Psychology, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome
- Department of Psychology, University of Campania “Luigi Vanvitelli,”Caserta, Italy
| | - Vittorio Lingiardi
- Department of Dynamic and Clinical Psychology, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome
| | - Silvia Salcuni
- Department of Developmental and Socialization Psychology, University of Padova, Padova
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Babl A, Berger T, Grosse Holtforth M, Taubner S, Caspar F, Gómez Penedo JM. Disentangling within- and between-patient effects of defensive functioning on psychotherapy outcome using mixed models. Psychother Res 2019; 30:1088-1100. [PMID: 31722650 DOI: 10.1080/10503307.2019.1690714] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/25/2022] Open
Abstract
Abstract There is a great need to identify predictors of treatment response, and the analysis of defense mechanisms is a promising approach. Defensive functioning may influence psychotherapy outcome in two ways: First, when it is generally higher or lower for some patients relative to others and second, as it shifts in individual patients over time. The present study examined both within- and between patient effects of defenses using hierarchical linear modeling. Forty-seven patients diagnosed with depression, anxiety, or adjustment disorders received 25 ± 3 sessions of integrative cognitive-behavioral therapy in a university outpatient clinic. The Defense Mechanism Rating Scale (DMRS) was used to assess defenses in the 1st, 8th, 16th, and 24th session and relate them to symptom severity of depression and anxiety. A higher number of adaptive defense mechanisms was associated with less severe depressive symptoms during treatment while a higher number of immature defenses was related to more severe depressive and anxiety symptoms. An increase in adaptive and a decrease in immature defenses over the course of treatment predicted symptom reduction of depression whereas a decrease in neurotic and immature defenses was associated with reductions in anxiety symptoms. Our results empirically support defensive functioning as a mechanism of change in psychotherapy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anna Babl
- Department for Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland
| | - Thomas Berger
- Department for Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland
| | | | - Svenja Taubner
- Institute for Psychosocial Prevention, University of Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Franz Caspar
- Department for Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland
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Prada P, Perroud N, Rüfenacht E, Nicastro R. Strategies to Deal With Suicide and Non-suicidal Self-Injury in Borderline Personality Disorder, the Case of DBT. Front Psychol 2018; 9:2595. [PMID: 30619004 PMCID: PMC6304419 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2018.02595] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/13/2018] [Accepted: 12/03/2018] [Indexed: 11/28/2022] Open
Abstract
One of the most problematic aspects of borderline personality disorder resides in repeated non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI) and suicide attempts. These behaviors constitute the prime therapeutic target and a factor that complicates patient care, namely in terms of therapeutic continuity. It has been demonstrated that Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) is efficient in reducing the symptomatology of this disorder, as well as NSSI and suicide. DBT is a multi-component psychotherapeutic treatment, and the effectiveness of its individual constituents is therefore a relevant question. Studies comparing its various components (individual therapy, group therapy, and standard DBT) have not revealed any marked difference between them, other than a tendency toward improved patient retention rates in the standard version of the treatment. The aim of this study is to review the various components of DBT and their constituent parts, in order to highlight the importance of focusing on self-harm behaviors within the therapy as a whole. Although therapeutic strategies may differ and target directly suicide or NSSI, managing the quality of life, and the persistence of the therapeutic alliance (and of the interpersonal alliance) is equally important in terms of treatment efficacy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Paco Prada
- TRE Unit, Division of Psychiatric Specialties, Department of Mental Health and Psychiatry, Geneva University Hospitals, Geneva, Switzerland
| | - Nader Perroud
- TRE Unit, Division of Psychiatric Specialties, Department of Mental Health and Psychiatry, Geneva University Hospitals, Geneva, Switzerland
| | - Eva Rüfenacht
- TRE Unit, Division of Psychiatric Specialties, Department of Mental Health and Psychiatry, Geneva University Hospitals, Geneva, Switzerland
| | - Rosetta Nicastro
- TRE Unit, Division of Psychiatric Specialties, Department of Mental Health and Psychiatry, Geneva University Hospitals, Geneva, Switzerland
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