Early termination of treatment in personality disorder treated in a psychotherapy hospital - Quantitative and qualitative study

Background Factors underlying premature discontinuation of psychosocial in- patient treatment are still unclear. Aims Investigation of early discontinuation of specialised in-patient psych osocial treatment in a sample of people with personality disorder. Method Out of 134 consecutive admissions to the Cassel Hospital, 42 early d rop-outs and 92 patients who remained were compared on demographic and clin ical variables. Early drop-outs were invited for in-depth interviews, to ex plore their hospital experiences. Results The early drop-out group and the group which remained showed signif icant differences in occupational status, borderline personality disorder ( BPD) and the treatment programme to which they were allocated. All three in dependent variables predicted early discontinuation of treatment. The quali tative analysis of interview transcripts identified significant problems in institutional dimensions. Conclusions Important subjects and process variables contributing to early drop-out in people with personality disorder were identified, with potentia l implications for clinical practice. Declaration of interest This study wa s funded by a grant from the Sir Jules Thorn Charitable Trust.