Transference Focused Psychotherapy: Large Effectiveness

Large effectiveness: 0.89

What is Transference Focused Psychotherapy?

1. For borderline personality disorder

2. The individual with borderline personality organization (BPO) as holding unreconciled and contradictory internalized representations of self and significant others that are affectively charged.

3. The defense against these contradictory internalized object relations leads to disturbed relationships with others and with self.

4. The distorted perceptions of self, others, and associated affects are the focus of treatment as they emerge in the relationship with the therapist (transference).

5. The treatment focuses on the integration of split off parts of self and object representations, and the consistent interpretation of these distorted perceptions is considered the mechanism of change.

Evidence:

0.45 small to moderate effect: reduced borderline symptoms (Fischer-Kern, Doering, Taubner, Hörz, Zimmermann, Rentrop, & … Buchheim, 2015)

0.80 large effect: reduced suicide attempts in borderline patients (Doering, Hörz, Rentrop, Fischer-Kern, Schuster, Benecke, & … Buchheim, 2010)

1.60 large effect: reduced borderline personality disorder symptoms in borderline patients (Doering, Hörz, Rentrop, Fischer-Kern, Schuster, Benecke, & … Buchheim, 2010)

1.00 large effect: increased psychosocial functions in borderline patients(Doering, Hörz, Rentrop, Fischer-Kern, Schuster, Benecke, & … Buchheim, 2010)

1.00 large effect: increased personality organization in borderline patients(Doering, Hörz, Rentrop, Fischer-Kern, Schuster, Benecke, & … Buchheim, 2010)

0.50 moderate effect: reduced hospitalization admissions in borderline patients (Doering, Hörz, Rentrop, Fischer-Kern, Schuster, Benecke, & … Buchheim, 2010)

Doering, S., Hörz, S., Rentrop, M., Fischer-Kern, M., Schuster, P., Benecke, C., & … Buchheim, P. (2010). Transference-focused psychotherapy v. treatment by community psychotherapists for borderline personality disorder: Randomised controlled trial. The British Journal Of Psychiatry, 196(5), 389-395. doi:10.1192/bjp.bp.109.070177

Fischer-Kern, M., Doering, S., Taubner, S., Hörz, S., Zimmermann, J., Rentrop, M., & … Buchheim, A. (2015). Transference-focused psychotherapy for borderline personality disorder: Change in reflective function. The British Journal Of Psychiatry, 207(2), 173-174.