Common factors, Responsiveness and Outcome in Psychotherapy (CROP): study protocol for a naturalistic prospective cohort study of psychotherapy in Denmark.

Introduction: The aim of the Common factors, Responsiveness and Outcome in Psychotherapy (CROP) study is to identify client and psychologist characteristics and therapeutic processes associated with the outcome of psychotherapy delivered by psychologists employed in the Danish primary sector or fully self-employed. The study addresses two main questions. First, how are specific characteristics of clients and psychologists related to the outcome of therapy and do these characteristics moderate the outcome of different psychotherapeutic approaches? Second, to what extent do therapists adapt their approach to client characteristics and preferences and how does such responsiveness impact the process and outcome of therapy?

Methods And Analysis: The study is a naturalistic prospective cohort study carried out in collaboration with psychologists in private practice in Denmark.

Personality and Psychopathology in Patients With Mixed Sensory-Motor Functional Neurological Disorder (Conversion Disorder): A Pilot Study.

The purpose of this pilot study was to explore differences in the level of personality functioning, symptom severity, and personality pathology in patients with mixed sensory-motor functional neurological disorder (conversion disorder). Individuals with psychogenic nonepileptic seizures were not included. We recruited 15 patients, mean age of 33.

Women With Borderline Personality Disorder Show Reduced Identification of Emotional Facial Expressions and a Heightened Negativity Bias.

Individuals with borderline personality disorder (BPD) frequently display impairments in the identification of emotional facial expressions paralleled by a negativity bias. However, it remains unclear whether misperception of facial expressions is a key psychopathological marker of BPD. To address this question, the authors examined 43 women diagnosed with BPD and 56 healthy female controls using an emotion face identification task and a face dot-probe task together with measures on psychopathology.

Neurocognitive Deficits in Borderline Personality Disorder: Associations With Childhood Trauma and Dimensions of Personality Psychopathology.

The present study evaluates the severity of neurocognitive deficits and assesses their relations with self-reported childhood trauma and dimensions of personality psychopathology in 45 outpatients with borderline personality disorder (BPD) matched to 56 non-psychiatric controls. Participants completed a comprehensive battery of neurocognitive tests, a retrospective questionnaire on early life trauma and a dimensional measure of personality psychopathology. Patients with BPD primarily showed deficits in verbal comprehension, sustained visual attention, working memory and processing speed.

Maladaptive coping in adults who have experienced early parental loss and grief counseling.

This study compares maladaptive coping, measured as substance use, behavioral disengagement, self-blame, and emotional eating, among adults (>18 years) who have experienced early parental loss ( N = 1465 women, N = 331 men) with non-bereaved controls ( N = 515 women, N = 115 men). We also compared bereaved adults who received grief counseling ( N = 822 women, N = 190 men) with bereaved controls who had not ( N = 233 women, N = 66 men). Bereaved adults reported significantly more substance use, behavioral disengagement, and emotional eating than non-bereaved adults.

Changes in Neurocognitive Functioning After 6 Months of Mentalization-Based Treatment for Borderline Personality Disorder.

Patients with borderline personality disorder (BPD) have deficits in neurocognitive function that could affect their ability to engage in psychotherapy and may be ameliorated by improvements in symptom severity. In the current study, 18 patients with BPD completed neurocognitive tests prior to beginning mentalization-based therapy and again after 6 months of treatment. Twenty-eight nonpsychiatric controls were tested over the same period of time but received no intervention.

Psychodynamic profile and reflective functioning in patients with bulimia nervosa.

Objective: The aim of this study was to examine the general psychological functioning of patients suffering from bulimia nervosa (BN) using the Karolinska Psychodynamic Profile (KAPP). Furthermore, KAPP data and data from the Reflective Functioning scale (RF), measuring the ability to mentalize, were combined in order to examine differences in alexithymia, impulse control and affect regulation in patients with high or low RF.

Method: Seventy patients with BN were interviewed with both the KAPP and the Adult Attachment Interview (AAI) from which RF is coded.

A randomized controlled trial of psychoanalytic psychotherapy or cognitive-behavioral therapy for bulimia nervosa.

Objective: The authors compared psychoanalytic psychotherapy and cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) in the treatment of bulimia nervosa.

Method: A randomized controlled trial was conducted in which 70 patients with bulimia nervosa received either 2 years of weekly psychoanalytic psychotherapy or 20 sessions of CBT over 5 months. The main outcome measure was the Eating Disorder Examination interview, which was administered blind to treatment condition at baseline, after 5 months, and after 2 years.

Similarities and differences in borderline and organic personality disorder.

Introduction: Previous research has shown that brain injury patients with Organic Personality Disorder (OPD) may display "borderline" traits due to prefrontal damage, and their personality structure may be unstable and close to a borderline personality organisation. They may have few general neuropsychological dysfunctions but specific executive deficits. Similar deficits have been found in patients with Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD).

Unstable identity and prefrontal injury.

Introduction: In neuropsychological research, "organic personality disorder", lack of social insight, and executive dysfunctions have been identified in patients with prefrontal brain injury. The assessment of personality change has, in particular, been a methodological challenge in this field of research. The aim of the present pilot study was to examine personality aspects in patients with prefrontal brain injury from a neuropsychological as well as a psychodynamic point of view.