John F Clarkin, Kevin B Meehan, Chiara De Panfilis, Stephan Doering
{"title":"Empirical Developments in Transference-Focused Psychotherapy.","authors":"John F Clarkin, Kevin B Meehan, Chiara De Panfilis, Stephan Doering","doi":"10.1176/appi.psychotherapy.20220017","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1176/appi.psychotherapy.20220017","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Objective: </strong>Transference-focused psychotherapy (TFP) is an empirically supported individualized psychotherapy for patients with borderline personality disorder. This review highlights its development and current status.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>A review of the theoretical background underpinning TFP and empirical advances in the development of TFP provide perspective.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Otto Kernberg's object relations model of personality and its implications for assessment and diagnosis of personality disorders are described. The authors review the programmatic research that has been developed and has demonstrated the efficacy of TFP. In view of the empirical studies that have demonstrated the successful outcomes and processes of TFP for patients with borderline personality disorder, compared with other approaches, TFP has been applied to a broader range of difficulties related to patients' self-functioning and interpersonal functioning across the range of severities in personality pathology, consistent with the Alternative DSM-5 Model for Personality Disorders. The authors discuss borderline personality organization in the context of interpersonal, neurocognitive, and self-regulatory dysfunction, including preliminary findings.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>The theoretical and empirical advances in TFP lead to future directions for research evaluating personality disorder and its treatment.</p>","PeriodicalId":46822,"journal":{"name":"AMERICAN JOURNAL OF PSYCHOTHERAPY","volume":"76 1","pages":"39-45"},"PeriodicalIF":2.5,"publicationDate":"2023-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"9469973","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"An Integrated Developmental Approach to Personality Disorders in Adolescence: Expanding Kernberg's Object Relations Theory.","authors":"Lina Normandin, Alan Weiner, Karin Ensink","doi":"10.1176/appi.psychotherapy.20220023","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1176/appi.psychotherapy.20220023","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>This article is a tribute to Dr. Otto F. Kernberg and his contribution to the theoretical understanding of personality pathology in adolescence. In his object relations theory of the structure of personality, an integrated identity is considered central to healthy personality functioning and is contrasted with identity diffusion, which is posited to underlie the maladaptive interpersonal functioning of patients with severe personality disorders. His work provided an early theoretical foundation for the understanding and treatment of personality disorders in adults, but a need remained for a deeper understanding of the development and treatment of personality disorders during adolescence. During the past 10 years, Kernberg has led a group of clinicians and developmental researchers focusing on childhood and adolescence to elaborate an understanding of the development, assessment, and treatment of personality disorders among adolescents. He proposed that in the context of typical development, adolescence is important to the expansion of identity, because it represents the period when sexual and aggressive impulses are integrated and earlier representations of the self and others are revised and become more realistic and nuanced. Furthermore, adolescence entails a reorganization of the moral system and enrichment of the ego ideal. This article presents two methods for assessing personality disorders in adolescence that are based on Kernberg's theory and demonstrates the use of transference-focused psychotherapy for adolescents with personality disorders.</p>","PeriodicalId":46822,"journal":{"name":"AMERICAN JOURNAL OF PSYCHOTHERAPY","volume":"76 1","pages":"9-14"},"PeriodicalIF":2.5,"publicationDate":"2023-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"9113570","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Hatred, Emptiness, and Hope: Transference-Focused Psychotherapy in Personality Disorders.","authors":"Stephan Doering","doi":"10.1176/appi.psychotherapy.20220056","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1176/appi.psychotherapy.20220056","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":46822,"journal":{"name":"AMERICAN JOURNAL OF PSYCHOTHERAPY","volume":"76 1","pages":"51"},"PeriodicalIF":2.5,"publicationDate":"2023-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"9112223","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"The Development of Transference-Focused Psychotherapy and Its Model of Supervision.","authors":"Frank Yeomans, Eve Caligor, Diana Diamond","doi":"10.1176/appi.psychotherapy.20220019","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1176/appi.psychotherapy.20220019","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Transference-focused psychotherapy (TFP) is an empirically based, manualized psychodynamic psychotherapy that emerged as an adaptation of psychoanalytic techniques to meet the needs of patients with personality pathology. As it became more clearly defined through a series of treatment manuals and empirical research, TFP has also come to be considered a conceptual and technical model of therapy that can be used to introduce therapists in training to the principles of psychodynamic psychotherapy in a systematic way. Advanced levels of TFP training and practice involve an emphasis on supervision that is applied in a more structured way than traditional psychodynamic supervision, while respecting the depth and subtlety of psychoanalytic exploration. This article reviews the development of the treatment model and the supervisory process that guides the therapist to carry out TFP in accordance with its proposed mechanism of change.</p>","PeriodicalId":46822,"journal":{"name":"AMERICAN JOURNAL OF PSYCHOTHERAPY","volume":"76 1","pages":"46-50"},"PeriodicalIF":2.5,"publicationDate":"2023-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"9470007","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Eve Caligor, Emanuele Preti, Barry L Stern, Julia F Sowislo, John F Clarkin
{"title":"Object Relations Theory Model of Personality Disorders.","authors":"Eve Caligor, Emanuele Preti, Barry L Stern, Julia F Sowislo, John F Clarkin","doi":"10.1176/appi.psychotherapy.20220027","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1176/appi.psychotherapy.20220027","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Contemporary models of the diagnosis and classification of personality disorders have diverged from the categorical diagnostic framework of the <i>DSM</i> system. One response to this movement can be found in the Alternative DSM-5 Model for Personality Disorders (AMPD), which uses dimensions of personality functioning, coupled with identification of dominant pathological traits, to define and classify personality disorders. By applying psychodynamic object relations theory to the AMPD, therapists can enrich the understanding and assessment of personality functioning and pathology as described in the AMPD.</p>","PeriodicalId":46822,"journal":{"name":"AMERICAN JOURNAL OF PSYCHOTHERAPY","volume":"76 1","pages":"26-30"},"PeriodicalIF":2.5,"publicationDate":"2023-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"9111181","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Object Relations-Informed Psychotherapy: Introduction to Festschrift Honoring Otto F. Kernberg, M.D.","authors":"Jill C Delaney, John F Clarkin","doi":"10.1176/appi.psychotherapy.20220068","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1176/appi.psychotherapy.20220068","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":46822,"journal":{"name":"AMERICAN JOURNAL OF PSYCHOTHERAPY","volume":"76 1","pages":"1-2"},"PeriodicalIF":2.5,"publicationDate":"2023-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"9119857","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Diana Diamond, John R Keefe, Susanne Hörz-Sagstetter, Melitta Fischer-Kern, Stephan Doering, Anna Buchheim
{"title":"Changes in Attachment Representation and Personality Organization in Transference-Focused Psychotherapy.","authors":"Diana Diamond, John R Keefe, Susanne Hörz-Sagstetter, Melitta Fischer-Kern, Stephan Doering, Anna Buchheim","doi":"10.1176/appi.psychotherapy.20220018","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1176/appi.psychotherapy.20220018","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Objective: </strong>The aim of this article was to construct an empirical bridge between object relations theory and attachment theory by investigating how researchers in both traditions have contributed to understanding and assessing identity diffusion (a keystone of personality pathology) and object relations in patients with borderline personality disorder during 1 year of transference-focused psychotherapy (TFP).</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>The Adult Attachment Interview (AAI) and the Structured Interview of Personality Organization (STIPO) were administered to patients (N=104, all women) before and after 1 year of treatment. This study was part of a randomized controlled trial in which 104 patients with borderline personality disorder were randomly assigned to receive either TFP (a manualized, structured psychodynamic treatment approach) or treatment by experienced community psychotherapists. Changes on the AAI in attachment representations, narrative coherence, and reflective function were examined for their associations with changes on the STIPO in identity, object relations, and aggression.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Patients who shifted from disorganized (unresolved) to organized attachment on the AAI after 1 year of TFP (but not treatment by experienced community psychotherapists) showed hypothesized improvements in domains of personality organization on the STIPO, including identity, object relations, and aggression. Those who did not change from disorganized (unresolved) to organized attachment improved only in the domain of aggression.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>These findings highlight the centrality of identity diffusion to borderline personality disorder pathology and the importance of targeting it in treatment. Furthermore, the results suggest that identity may be indexed by measures of attachment security, narrative coherence, and personality organization.</p>","PeriodicalId":46822,"journal":{"name":"AMERICAN JOURNAL OF PSYCHOTHERAPY","volume":"76 1","pages":"31-38"},"PeriodicalIF":2.5,"publicationDate":"2023-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"9636196","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Narcissistic Personality Disorder Studied the Long Way: Predicting Change in Narcissistic Pathology During College.","authors":"Mark F Lenzenweger","doi":"10.1176/appi.psychotherapy.20220020","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1176/appi.psychotherapy.20220020","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Objective: </strong>Otto F. Kernberg pioneered the description, understanding, and treatment of pathological narcissism. Narcissism has emerged as a clinical construct of considerable interest in clinical psychology, psychiatry, and psychoanalysis and has often been featured in the literature on personality and social psychology. Considerable discussion in recent years has focused on whether levels of narcissism seen among young adults have been increasing. Nearly all of that discussion has been focused on changes in successive cohorts in normative (normal-range) expressions of narcissism. No direct prospective longitudinal study of the same individuals has assessed for pathological narcissism during college, the period that has been the specific focus of such lively debate. This study aimed to fill that gap in the literature.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>This multiwave, longitudinal study explored pathological narcissism during college by enrolling first-year undergraduate students (N=250) from the Longitudinal Study of Personality Disorders and by using individual growth curve (IGC) analysis. Participants were assigned to either a possible personality disorder or no personality disorder group, according to results from the International Personality Disorder Examination.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>By the third wave of assessments, 16% of the sample received a probable or definite diagnosis of at least one axis II personality disorder. IGC analysis revealed that pathological narcissism declined across the first 4 years of college. Personality predictors of this pattern of change are also discussed.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>This study highlights the need for a fine-grained prospective study of the same participants over time to illuminate patterns of change in narcissism.</p>","PeriodicalId":46822,"journal":{"name":"AMERICAN JOURNAL OF PSYCHOTHERAPY","volume":"76 1","pages":"15-25"},"PeriodicalIF":2.5,"publicationDate":"2023-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"9469969","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"The Practitioner's Guide to the Science of Psychotherapy.","authors":"Brandon Neisewander, Kyle McGinty","doi":"10.1176/appi.psychotherapy.20220051","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1176/appi.psychotherapy.20220051","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":46822,"journal":{"name":"AMERICAN JOURNAL OF PSYCHOTHERAPY","volume":"76 2","pages":"91"},"PeriodicalIF":2.5,"publicationDate":"2023-02-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"9663617","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Digna J F van Schaik, Amrah Y Schotanus, Els Dozeman, Marcus J H Huibers, Pim Cuijpers, Tara Donker
{"title":"Pilot Study of Blended-Format Interpersonal Psychotherapy for Major Depressive Disorder.","authors":"Digna J F van Schaik, Amrah Y Schotanus, Els Dozeman, Marcus J H Huibers, Pim Cuijpers, Tara Donker","doi":"10.1176/appi.psychotherapy.20210061","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1176/appi.psychotherapy.20210061","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Objective: </strong>Blended-format interpersonal psychotherapy (IPT) is an integrated approach consisting of alternating face-to-face (in person or videoconferencing) and online sessions, and this format may increase access to care, empower patients, and improve quality and cost-effectiveness of care. This study, conducted in the Netherlands, was one of the first to investigate the feasibility of blended-format IPT in specialized mental health care.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>Participants (ages 18-64, N=21) with a unipolar depressive episode were recruited at an outpatient mood disorder clinic. In this pre-post nonrandomized pilot study, the blended IPT consisted of six online sessions alternated with six to 10 in-person or videoconferencing sessions. Feasibility (defined as >60% of the participants having completed >50% of the online sessions), usability (via the System Usability Scale [SUS]), satisfaction (via the Client Satisfaction Questionnaire-8 [CSQ-8] and qualitative interviewing), and symptom reduction (via the nine-item Patient Health Questionnaire [PHQ-9]) were assessed.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Of the participants, 90% (95% CI=70%-99%) completed all online sessions. Mean±SD scores were 25.12±3.55 (of 32) on the CSQ-8 and 66.0±12.4 (of 100) on the SUS. PHQ-9 scores (N=21) decreased significantly, from 17.48±5.41 at baseline to 11.90±6.45 postintervention, indicating improvement (t=4.86, df=20, p=0.001). Hedges' g was 0.90 (95% CI=0.44-1.41), indicating a large effect size. The treatment response rate was 33% (95% CI=15%-57%); the remission rate was 19% (95% CI=6%-42%).</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>Blended-format IPT was feasible, and patients were satisfied with the intervention. The therapy described here may serve as a starting point for cost-effectiveness research on this promising format.</p>","PeriodicalId":46822,"journal":{"name":"AMERICAN JOURNAL OF PSYCHOTHERAPY","volume":"76 2","pages":"69-74"},"PeriodicalIF":2.5,"publicationDate":"2023-02-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"9634904","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}