Personality Disorders as a Possible Moderator of the Effects of Relational Interventions in Short-Term Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy with Depressed Adolescents

Hans Ole Korsgaard, Randi Ulberg (), Benjamin Hummelen, Nick Midgley, Agneta Thorén and Hanne-Sofie Johnsen Dahl
Additional contact information
Hans Ole Korsgaard: The Nic Waal Institute, Lovisenberg Hospital, 0440 Oslo, Norway
Randi Ulberg: Institute of Clinical Medicine, University of Oslo, 0316 Oslo, Norway
Benjamin Hummelen: Division of Mental Health and Addiction, Oslo University Hospital, 0424 Oslo, Norway
Nick Midgley: Research Department of Clinical, Educational and Health Psychology, University College London (UCL), London WC1E 6BT, UK
Agneta Thorén: The Erica Foundation, 114 24 Stockholm, Sweden
Hanne-Sofie Johnsen Dahl: Research Unit, Division of Mental Health, Vestfold Hospital Trust, 3116 Tønsberg, Norway

IJERPH, 2022, vol. 19, issue 17, 1-12

Abstract: A significant proportion of adolescents suffering from major depressive disorder (MDD) are likely to have a co-morbid personality disorder (PD). Short-term psychoanalytic psychotherapy (STPP) was found to be one treatment of choice for adolescents suffering from MDD. Background: The first experimental study of transference work-in teenagers (FEST-IT) demonstrated the efficaciousness of transference work in STPP with adolescents suffering from MDD. The usefulness of STPP may be enhanced by exploring possible moderators. Methods: Depressed adolescents ( N = 69), aged 16–18 years, were diagnosed with the structured interview for DSM-IV PDs and randomized to 28 weeks of STPP with or without transference work. A mixed linear model was applied. The moderator effect was investigated by a three-way interaction including “time”, “treatment group” and “number of PD criteria”. Results: A small but significant moderator effect was found for cluster B personality pathology. Patients with a higher number of cluster B PD criteria at baseline did better up to one-year post-treatment where therapists encouraged patients to explore the patient–therapist relationship in the here and now. Conclusion: When treated with psychoanalytic psychotherapy for MDD, adolescents with cluster B PD symptoms seem to profit more from transference work than adolescents without such pathology.

Keywords: psychodynamic; psychoanalytic psychotherapy; transference; adolescent; depression; personality disorder (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
References: View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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