NCT00714311

Brief Summary

The purpose of this study is to find out whether Transference-Focused Psychotherapy (TFP) is effective in the treatment of Borderline Personality Disorder.

Trial Health

90
On Track

Trial Health Score

Automated assessment based on enrollment pace, timeline, and geographic reach

Enrollment
104

participants targeted

Target at P50-P75 for not_applicable

Timeline
Completed

Started Oct 2004

Longer than P75 for not_applicable

Geographic Reach
2 countries

2 active sites

Status
completed

Health score is calculated from publicly available data and should be used for screening purposes only.

Trial Relationships

Click on a node to explore related trials.

Study Timeline

Key milestones and dates

Study Start

First participant enrolled

October 1, 2004

Completed
3.8 years until next milestone

First Submitted

Initial submission to the registry

July 9, 2008

Completed
5 days until next milestone

First Posted

Study publicly available on registry

July 14, 2008

Completed
7 months until next milestone

Primary Completion

Last participant's last visit for primary outcome

February 1, 2009

Completed
6 years until next milestone

Study Completion

Last participant's last visit for all outcomes

February 1, 2015

Completed
15 days until next milestone

Results Posted

Study results publicly available

February 16, 2015

Completed
Last Updated

February 16, 2015

Status Verified

February 1, 2015

Enrollment Period

4.3 years

First QC Date

July 9, 2008

Results QC Date

February 4, 2015

Last Update Submit

February 4, 2015

Conditions

Borderline Personality Disorder

Keywords

borderline personality disorderrandomized controlled trialTransference-Focused Psychotherapytreatment by experienced community psychotherapists

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (2)

  • Drop-out

    Did not finish one year of treatment.

    1 year

  • Suicidality (Suicide Attempts)

    1 year

Secondary Outcomes (6)

  • Psychosocial Functioning (Global Assessment of Functioning, GAF-Score)

    1 year

  • Level of Personality Organization (Structured Interview for Personality Organization, STIPO)

    1 year

  • Number of Self-harming Acts

    1 year

  • Self-assessment of Psychopathology (BDI, STAI, BSI)

    1 year

  • Attachment Style and Reflective Function (Adult Attachment Interview, AAI)

    1 year

  • +1 more secondary outcomes

Study Arms (2)

TFP

ACTIVE COMPARATOR

Transference-Focused Psychotherapy

Behavioral: Transference-Focused Psychotherapy

ECP

ACTIVE COMPARATOR

treatment by experienced community psychotherapists

Behavioral: treatment by experienced community psychotherapists

Interventions

Transference-Focused PsychotherapyBEHAVIORAL

Outpatient psychotherapy according to the treatment manual, sessions of 50 minutes twice per week

TFP
treatment by experienced community psychotherapistsBEHAVIORAL

Outpatient psychotherapy in private practices or outpatient units of psychiatric hospitals. Licensed psychotherapists with experience and special interest in the treatment of borderline patients are treating according to the method they have learned.

ECP

Eligibility Criteria

Age18 Years - 45 Years
Sexfemale
Healthy VolunteersNo
Age GroupsAdult (18-64)

You may qualify if:

  • Written informed consent to the participation in the study
  • Diagnosis of BPD according to DSM-IV as assessed using the SCID-II
  • Age between 18 and 45 years
  • Sufficient knowledge of the German language

You may not qualify if:

  • Diagnosis of schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, severe substance abuse, organic pathology, or mental retardation according to DSM-IV as assessed using the SCID-I
  • Diagnosis of antisocial personality disorder according to DSM-IV as assessed using the SCID-II

Contact the study team to confirm eligibility.

Sponsors & Collaborators

Study Sites (2)

Dept. of Psychoanalysis and Psychotherapy, Medical University Vienna

Vienna, Vienna, 1090, Austria

Location

Dept. of Psychiatry, Technical University of Munich

Munich, Bavaria, 81675, Germany

Location

Related Publications (7)

  • Clarkin JF, Levy KN, Lenzenweger MF, Kernberg OF. Evaluating three treatments for borderline personality disorder: a multiwave study. Am J Psychiatry. 2007 Jun;164(6):922-8. doi: 10.1176/ajp.2007.164.6.922.

    PMID: 17541052BACKGROUND

  • Levy KN, Meehan KB, Kelly KM, Reynoso JS, Weber M, Clarkin JF, Kernberg OF. Change in attachment patterns and reflective function in a randomized control trial of transference-focused psychotherapy for borderline personality disorder. J Consult Clin Psychol. 2006 Dec;74(6):1027-1040. doi: 10.1037/0022-006X.74.6.1027.

    PMID: 17154733BACKGROUND

  • Kernberg OF, Yeomans FE, Clarkin JF, Levy KN. Transference focused psychotherapy: overview and update. Int J Psychoanal. 2008 Jun;89(3):601-20. doi: 10.1111/j.1745-8315.2008.00046.x.

    PMID: 18558958BACKGROUND

  • Schmitz-Riol S, Fuchshuber J, Herpertz J, Buchheim A, Horz-Sagstetter S, Rentrop M, Fischer-Kern M, Buchheim P, Taylor J, Tmej A, Weihs KL, Lane RD, Doering S. Emotion word repertoire in the adult attachment interview predicts a reduction of non-suicidal self-injury in the psychotherapy of borderline personality disorder. BMC Psychiatry. 2025 Aug 28;25(1):832. doi: 10.1186/s12888-025-07300-6.

    PMID: 40877786DERIVED

  • Witt KG, Hetrick SE, Rajaram G, Hazell P, Taylor Salisbury TL, Townsend E, Hawton K. Psychosocial interventions for self-harm in adults. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2021 Apr 22;4(4):CD013668. doi: 10.1002/14651858.CD013668.pub2.

    PMID: 33884617DERIVED

  • Storebo OJ, Stoffers-Winterling JM, Vollm BA, Kongerslev MT, Mattivi JT, Jorgensen MS, Faltinsen E, Todorovac A, Sales CP, Callesen HE, Lieb K, Simonsen E. Psychological therapies for people with borderline personality disorder. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2020 May 4;5(5):CD012955. doi: 10.1002/14651858.CD012955.pub2.

    PMID: 32368793DERIVED

  • Doering S, Horz S, Rentrop M, Fischer-Kern M, Schuster P, Benecke C, Buchheim A, Martius P, Buchheim P. Transference-focused psychotherapy v. treatment by community psychotherapists for borderline personality disorder: randomised controlled trial. Br J Psychiatry. 2010 May;196(5):389-95. doi: 10.1192/bjp.bp.109.070177.

    PMID: 20435966DERIVED

MeSH Terms

Conditions

Borderline Personality Disorder

Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Personality DisordersMental Disorders

Results Point of Contact

Title
Stephan Doering
Organization
Medical University of Vienna
stephan.doering@meduniwien.ac.at
+43140400

Study Officials

  • Stephan Doering, MD

    University of Muenster, Germany

    PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

Publication Agreements

PI is Sponsor Employee
Yes

Study Design

Study Type
interventional
Phase
not applicable
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Masking
SINGLE
Who Masked
OUTCOMES ASSESSOR
Purpose
TREATMENT
Intervention Model
PARALLEL
Sponsor Type
OTHER
Responsible Party
PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
PI Title
Univ.-Prof. Dr. med.

Study Record Dates

First Submitted

July 9, 2008

First Posted

July 14, 2008

Study Start

October 1, 2004

Primary Completion

February 1, 2009

Study Completion

February 1, 2015

Last Updated

February 16, 2015

Results First Posted

February 16, 2015

Record last verified: 2015-02

Locations

AU(1)DE(1)