Effectiveness of EMDR in Borderline Personality Disorder

NCT06493708 | Recruiting DMC

• 1 other identifier: EMDR2023-02
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 56
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 1

Brief Summary

Borderline personality disorder (BPD) is a severe mental disorder characterized by four major symptomatological domains: interpersonal instability, perceptive and identity disorders, emotional and behavioural dysregulation. Considering a multifactorial etiological model, it has been suggested that the interaction between behavioral, environmental and genetic factors may promote the development of BPD. Early life stress events (ELS) in childhood and adolescence are highly prevalent in this population and constitute an environmental risk factor for the development of BPD. This correlates with the fact that Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is frequently comorbid in BPD leading to more severe symptoms and worse psychosocial functioning. At the therapeutic level, the treatment of BPD is an open challenge as psychotherapeutic interventions are of limited effectiveness and characterized by high drop-out rates. Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) is the gold standard for treating PTSD. However, scientific evidence on the application of EMDR in patients with BPD is limited. This study aims to assess the feasibility and effectiveness of an EMDR protocol on the nuclear symptomatology of BPD (emotional and behavioral dysregulation) in a group of DBP patients with/without PTSD comorbidity, through a systematic assessment of the peculiar dimensions of the disorder. The basic hypothesis is that EMDR, through a short-term intervention, can act both on the traumatic PTSD-like experiences reported by patients and on the clinical manifestations peculiar to DBP, in particular by improving the emotional regulation capacity of patients with BPD.

Conditions

Borderline Personality Disorder

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (1)

• Core symptoms of BPD

  The primary outcome is the improvement of the core symptoms of BPD, measured by the Zanarini Rating Scale for Borderline Personality Disorder (ZAN-BPD). The scale ranges from 0 to 36, with higher scores indicating greater severity.

  4 timepoints: baseline (T0), after 6 (T6), 12 (T12), 18 (T18) weeks

Secondary Outcomes (1)

• Self perception of BPD symptoms

  4 timepoints: baseline (T0), after 6 (T6), 12 (T12), 18 (T18) weeks

Other Outcomes (3)

• Emotion disregulation

  4 timepoints: baseline (T0), after 6 (T6), 12 (T12), 18 (T18) weeks

• Ruminative thinking

  4 timepoints: baseline (T0), after 6 (T6), 12 (T12), 18 (T18) weeks

• Dissociative symptoms

  4 timepoints: baseline (T0), after 6 (T6), 12 (T12), 18 (T18) weeks

Study Arms (2)

EMDR intervention

EXPERIMENTAL

14 sessions of psychotherapy with EMDR will be carried out with patients. One session per week, lasting 90 minutes. The first two sessions will be used for the description of the EMDR method and for stabilization, then there will be treatment sessions.

Other: Trauma focused psychotherapy: EMDR

Waiting List

NO INTERVENTION

Treatment as usual

Interventions

Trauma focused psychotherapy: EMDR OTHER

14 sessions of psychotherapy with EMDR will be carried out with patients. One session per week, lasting 90 minutes. The first two sessions will be used for the description of the EMDR method and for stabilization, then there will be treatment sessions.

EMDR intervention

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 18 Years - 65 Years
• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: No
• Age Groups: Adult (18-64), Older Adult (65+)

You may qualify if:

• Patients must be over 18 years old
• A current diagnosis of PBD according to the DSM-5 was confirmed using the SCID-5-CV and SCID-5-PD diagnostic scale

You may not qualify if:

• Suicidal ideation in the last 3 months (suicidal thoughts active intentionally but without specific planning or suicidal thoughts active with planning and intentionality)
• Intellectual disability
• Any active disturbance from use of substances or alcohol
• Any other diagnosis of Axis I, except for Depressive Disorders, Anxious Spectrum Disorders, Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Azienda Socio Sanitaria Territoriale degli Spedali Civili di Brescia: lead

Study Sites (1)

ASST Spedali Civili Brescia

Brescia, Brescia, 25123, Italy

RECRUITING

MeSH Terms

Conditions

Borderline Personality Disorder

Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Personality Disorders; Mental Disorders

Study Officials

• Alessandra Minelli, Prof

  Università degli Studi di Brescia

  PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

Central Study Contacts

Alessandra Minelli, Prof

CONTACT

+39 380 3503413; alessandra.minelli@unibs.it

Stefano Barlati, Prof

CONTACT

+39 338 2027373l; stefano.barlati@unibs.it

Study Design

• Study Type: interventional
• Phase: not applicable
• Allocation: RANDOMIZED
• Masking: SINGLE
• Who Masked: PARTICIPANT
• Purpose: TREATMENT
• Intervention Model: FACTORIAL
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
• PI Title: Prof

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: July 2, 2024
• First Posted: July 10, 2024
• Study Start: October 1, 2024
• Primary Completion (Estimated): May 31, 2026
• Study Completion (Estimated): October 1, 2026
• Last Updated: February 25, 2026

Record last verified: 2025-10

Data Sharing

• IPD Sharing: Will share

Locations

IT (1)