Comparison of the effectiveness of individual schema therapy with and without supportive therapy in reducing the symptoms of patients with borderline personality disorder

Borderline personality disorder is a type of mental health problem, which affects the patient’s way of thinking and feeling about oneself and others and causes problems in daily functioning.

This study aimed to compare the effectiveness of individual schema therapy, with and without supportive therapy, in alleviating the symptoms of patients with borderline personality disorder.

This empirical semi-experimental study, with a pretest-posttest control group design, was conducted on a statistical population, consisting of all patients with borderline personality disorder, referred to Quds Hospital of Sanandaj, Iran, during 2020-2021. Via convenience sampling, 45 patients were selected and divided into three groups of 15 people. Weaver and Clum’s Borderline Personality Disorder Severity Index (1993) was used for data collection. To analyze the data, multivariate analysis of variance and t-test were performed in SPSS Version 22.

The results showed a significant difference in the symptoms of borderline personality disorder between the two groups (P≤0.01). Also, pretest-posttest comparisons indicated that the mean score of borderline personality disorder symptoms decreased by 0.97 in the individual schema therapy group without supportive treatment and by 1.12 in the individual schema therapy group with supportive therapy.

Since there was a significant difference between individual schema therapy, with and without supportive therapy, in alleviating the symptoms of patients with borderline personality disorder, it is recommended to implement individual schema therapy, along with supportive therapy for the treatment of this disorder.