Efficacy of dialectical behavior therapy in women veterans with borderlinepersonality disorder

Twenty women veterans who met criteria for borderline personality disorder (BPD) were randomly assigned to Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) or to tr eatment as usual (TAU) for 6 months. Compared with patients in TAU, those i n DBT reported significantly greater decreases in suicidal ideation, hopele ssness, depression, and anger expression. In addition, only patients in DBT demonstrated significant decreases in number of parasuicidal acts, anger e xperienced but not expressed, and dissociation. and a strong trend on numbe r of hospitalizations, although treatment group differences were not statis tically significant on these variables. Patients in both conditions reporte d significant decreases in depressive symptoms and in number of BPD criteri on behavior patterns, but no decrease in anxiety. Results of this pilot stu dy suggest that DBT can be provided effectively independent of the treatmen t's developer, and that larger efficacy and effectiveness studies are warra nted.