Specialized Healthcare Service for BPD Patients: Athens Trial

Summary

A quasi-experimental pragmatic trial was developed to evaluate a specific health-care service for the treatment of biporal personality disorder (BPD) patients.The effectiveness and economic evaluation (cost-effectiveness and cost-utility) of this specific health-care service as it is offered in every-day clinical practice will be assesed. The main hypothesis of the particular study is that the specific health-care service for the treatment of BPD patients has better efficacy and cost-effectiveness than the treatment as usual.

Furthermore, two additional substudies will be performed. The first one is a qualitative study on the experiences of patients and therapists of the specific program as compared to common treatment. The second substudy aims to investigate the effectiveness and the possible psychodynamic functions of the initial outpatient reception clinic of the specific program.

Patients will be followed for 2 years.

Conditions

• Other Mental Conditions

Interventions

BEHAVIORAL

Specific Therapy Program for Personality Disorders

The program was founded in 1999; since then, it has provided a wide range of different treatment interventions (outpatient, inpatient and day care). The interventions are psychoanalytically oriented and specifically for patients with Borderline Personality Disorder. Most of them are in the form of group psychoanalytic psychotherapy. The program consists of two steps: 1) an initial reception outpatient clinic where patients are followed after the referral to the Program, for a period of 6-8 months. This first step consists of monthly psychodynamically oriented sessions, monthly psychiatric appointments and application of psychological assessment instruments. The intervention focuses on crisis management and construction of the treatment plan for every patient. 2) The second step consists of long-term psychodynamic psychotherapy interventions, in combination with psychiatric treatment when it is is needed.

OTHER

Treatment As Usual (TAU) Group

The TAU group receives the common practice treatment in the two Specific Outpatient Clinics for BPD patients: The Outpatient Clinic for Borderline Personality Disorder Patients of the 2nd Psychiatric Clinic at the Medical School of National and Kapodistrian University of Athens called Attikon General University Hospital and The Outpatient Clinic for Borderline Personality Disorder Patients of the Psychiatric Clinic of Sismanogleion General Hospital. Treatment As Usual (TAU) The TAU includes the psychiatric management, consultation and pharmacotherapy if needed in the two Specific Outpatient Clinics for BPD patients. TAU provides one thirty minutes session per month. In case of crisis management patients contact their psychiatrist during the working hours, or after that they leave a message on the telephone answering machine and if needed make a visit in the Emergency Department of the Hospital on Duty.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• National and Kapodistrian University of Athens

  collaborator OTHER

• University Mental Health Research Institute, Athens, Greece

  collaborator OTHER

• Sismanogleion General Hospital, 3rd Respiratory Medicine Department

  collaborator OTHER

• Attikon Hospital

  collaborator OTHER

• Ioannis A. Malogiannis

  lead OTHER

Study Design

Allocation

NON_RANDOMIZED

Purpose

TREATMENT

Masking

DOUBLE

Model

PARALLEL

Eligibility

Min Age

18 Years

Max Age

55 Years

Sex

ALL

Healthy Volunteers

No

Timeline & Regulatory

Start

2022-01-07

Primary Completion

2024-06-30

Completion

2026-06-30

Countries

• Greece

Study Locations