IMPACT OF CLUSTER-C PERSONALITY-DISORDERS ON OUTCOMES OF CONTRASTING BRIEF PSYCHOTHERAPIES FOR DEPRESSION

Twenty-seven of 114 depressed clients, stratified for severity of depr ession, obtained a Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorde rs (3rd ed.; DSM-III; American Psychiatric Association, 1980) diagnosi s of Cluster C personality disorder-that is, avoidant, obsessive-compu lsive or dependent personality disorder (PD clients)-whereas the remai ning 87 did not (non-personality-disorder [NPD] clients). All clients completed either 8 or 16 sessions of cognitive-behavioral (CB) or psyc hodynamic-interpersonal (PI) psychotherapy. On most measures, PD clien ts began with more severe symptomatology than NPD clients. Among those who received PI therapy, PD clients maintained this difference posttr eatment and at 1-year follow-up. Among those who received CB therapy, posttreatment differences between PD and NPD groups were not significa nt. Treatment length did not influence outcome for PD clients. PD clie nts whose depression was also relatively severe showed significantly l ess improvement after treatment than either PD clients with less sever e depression or NPD clients.