Central Meditation and Imagery Therapy for Augmentation of Borderline Personality Disorder Treatment

Completed · Not applicable

Conditions studied: Borderline Personality Disorder

In brief

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.

Key facts

Study ID

NCT02125942

Run by

University of California, San Francisco

People needed

15

Starts

2014-04-01

Expected to finish

2015-09-01

Last updated by the study team

2021-01-13

Who can join

Age: 18 and older. Sex: any. Healthy volunteers: not accepted.

You may qualify if…

• 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

You may not qualify if…

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

Where it is running

• University of California, Los Angeles — Los Angeles, California, United States

Full record on ClinicalTrials.gov

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