The effectiveness of mindfulness therapy based on self-compassion on emotion regulation, loneliness and impulsivity in patients with borderline personality disorder

Borderline personality disorder is a serious and complex mental disorder that contains a pervasive pattern of instability in interpersonal relationships, self-image, emotions, and impulsivity. Therefore, the aim of the current study was the effectiveness of self-compassion-based mindfulness therapy on emotion regulation, loneliness, and impulsivity in borderline personality disorder patients.

The present study was a semi-experimental study with a pre-test- post-test design with two experimental and control groups. Among all the people with borderline personality disorder referred to the clinics in Qochan City, 30 people were selected by available sampling method and replaced in two experimental and control groups. All of them completed the emotion regulation (2003), loneliness (1980) and impulsivity (1994) questionnaires in the pre-test and post-test phases. After that, the experimental group underwent mindfulness intervention. Finally, the data was analyzed using covariance analysis by SPSS version 26 statistical software.

The results showed that the mean emotion regulation score in the experimental group significantly improved after the intervention compared to the control group (P<0.05). Mindfulness therapy based on self-compassion in the subjects of the experimental group, unlike the control group, in the post-test phase led to a decrease in loneliness and impulsivity (P<0.05).

These findings have further clarified the role of emotional, cognitive and behavioral structures in borderline personality disorder sufferers and the need to use therapeutic approaches combined with mindfulness in order to adjust the symptoms of borderline personality disorder sufferers.