Evaluation of Dialectical Behavioral Therapy on Egyptian Patients with Borderline Personality Disorder: A Comparative Study

Background: Researchers have introduced tremendous developments in the therapy of BPD. Nonetheless, there is an urgent need for further clinical investigations regarding the role of dialectical behavior therapy (DBT) in patients with borderline personality disorder (BPD).

Aim: We conducted this study to evaluate the efficacy of DBT in Egyptian patients with BPD.

Subjects and Methods: We conducted a prospective, comparative, non-randomized, study through the period from January 2017 to June 2019; patients were recruited if they had established diagnosis of BPD according to DSM-5. Eligible patients were assigned at their convenience or according to immediate availability of treatment slot to comprehensive DBT program integrating DBT skills into skills training schedule or treatment as usual (TAU).

Results: DBT patients showed better improvement in borderline symptoms in comparison to patients receiving TAU(P < 0.001). Regarding the behavior aspect, the patients in DBT group started to show significant improvement in comparison to TAU group after 16 months (P < 0.001). DBT patients showed better improvement of emotion regulation and mindfulness in comparison to TAU. Overall, it was found that DBT groups had lower Distress Tolerance scale (DTS) score in comparison TAU (28.35 ± 3.16vs. 49.95 ± 2.39, P < 0.001). At the end of treatment, it was found that Interpersonal Effectiveness, evaluated by (IIPP) scale, were significantly reduced in DBT group compared to TAU group (P < 0.001).

Conclusions: We provide further evidence about the effectiveness of DBT in the management of BPD in Egyptian patients.