CHANGE IN OBSESSIVE-COMPULSIVE AND AVOIDANT PERSONALITY-DISORDERS FOLLOWING TIME-LIMITED SUPPORTIVE-EXPRESSIVE THERAPY

Twenty-four patients with a DSM-III-R diagnosis of Avoidant Personalit y Disorder (AVPD) and 14 patients with a diagnosis of Obsessive-Compul sive Personality Disorder (OCPD) were assigned to 52 sessions of time- limited Supportive-Expressive (SE) dynamic psychotherapy. At intake, m ost patients had at least one concurrent Depressive and/or Anxiety dis order. OCPD patients lost their personality disorder diagnoses signifi cantly faster than did AVPD patients. By the end of treatment, 39 perc ent of AVPD still retained their diagnosis while only 15 percent of OC PD did so. Using hierarchical linear modeling, both patient groups imp roved significantly across time on measures of personality disorders, depression, anxiety, general functioning, and interpersonal problems. OCPD patients remained in treatment significantly longer and tended to improve (nonsignificantly) more than did AVPD patients. Alliance rati ngs from both patients and therapists increased significantly over tim e, except for those of OCPD patients who remained constant.