Clinical trial NCT02125942: Central Meditation and Imagery Therapy for Augmentation of Borderline Personality Disorder Treatment
Official title: Pilot Study of Central Meditation and Imagery Therapy for Borderline Personality Disorder
Study type: INTERVENTIONAL
Overall status: COMPLETED
Phase: NA
Conditions: Borderline Personality Disorder
Keywords: Borderline Personality Disorder
Lead sponsor: University of California, San Francisco
Sponsor class: OTHER
First posted: 2014-04-29
Enrollment: 15
Sex: ALL
Minimum age (years): 18
Standard ages: ADULT
OLDER_ADULT
Accepts healthy volunteers: no
Allocation: RANDOMIZED
Intervention model: PARALLEL
Primary purpose: TREATMENT

Brief summary: Borderline personality disorder is a severe psychiatric disorder marked by emotional instability, difficulty with interpersonal relationships, and self-harming behaviors. Despite receiving psychotherapy for borderline personality disorder, studies show that patient recovery is slow, and there is a high rate of self injury and suicide attempts early in treatment. There is thus a clear need to provide therapies to augment psychotherapy. We will conduct a pilot trial to determine whether a 6-week Central Meditation and Imagery Therapy (CMIT) is feasible for subjects with borderline personality disorder to undergo when added on to psychotherapy treatment. CMIT is a non-validated therapy that combines principles of mindfulness with meditation techniques and guided imagery. Sessions led by a trained clinician in a group setting once a week, and participants are asked to complete daily home practice.

The trial will involve 16 participants, all currently undergoing psychotherapy for borderline personality disorder. Participants will be randomly assigned to either a CMIT group that lasts 6 weeks, or a wait list group. Those in the wait list group will be able to receive CMIT after 6 weeks. All participants will continue to receive psychotherapy throughout the trial.

During the trial, we will also obtain preliminary data to help understand whether CMIT may result in psychological benefits for participants. This will include measuring the pulse in order to determine variation in beat to beat intervals of the heart during psychological tests, and filling out questionnaires before and after participation in CMIT.


Eligibility criteria: Inclusion Criteria:

* Meeting the diagnostic criteria for BPD according to DSM-IV criteria
* Meeting the diagnostic criteria for BPD based on the Diagnostic Interview for Borderline - Revised
* Currently receiving psychotherapy.
* English language proficiency to understand written and oral communication

Exclusion Criteria:

* Active suicidality or suicidal intent as identified on the Columbia Suicide Severity Rating Scale
* Suicide attempt within the past month

Primary outcomes:
measure: Borderline Symptoms
timeFrame: 6 weeks
Secondary outcomes:
measure: Depression
timeFrame: 6 weeks
measure: Anxiety
timeFrame: 6 weeks
measure: Positive Affect
timeFrame: 6 weeks
Other outcomes:
measure: Heart rate variability
timeFrame: 6 weeks
Locations:
city: Los Angeles
country: United States
facility: University of California, Los Angeles
state: California
Study officials:
affiliation: University of California, Los Angeles
name: Felipe A Jain, MD
role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR
References:
citation: 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.