BACKGROUND:Cognitive analytic therapy (CAT) is a theoretically coherent approach developed to address common processes underlying personality disorders, but is supported by limited empirical evidence. AIMS: To investigate the effectiveness of time-limited CAT for participants with personality disorder. METHOD: A service-based randomised controlled trial (trial registration: ISRCTN79596618) comparing 24 sessions of CAT (n = 38) and treatment as usual (TAU) (n = 40) over 10 months for individuals with personality disorder. Primary outcomes were measures of psychological symptoms and interpersonal difficulties. RESULTS: Participants receiving CAT showed reduced symptoms and experienced substantial benefits compared with TAU controls, who showed signs of deterioration during the treatment period. CONCLUSIONS:Cognitive analytic therapy is more effective than TAU in improving outcomes associated with personality disorder. More elaborate and controlled evaluations of CAT are needed in the future.
RCT Entities:
BACKGROUND: Cognitive analytic therapy (CAT) is a theoretically coherent approach developed to address common processes underlying personality disorders, but is supported by limited empirical evidence. AIMS: To investigate the effectiveness of time-limited CAT for participants with personality disorder. METHOD: A service-based randomised controlled trial (trial registration: ISRCTN79596618) comparing 24 sessions of CAT (n = 38) and treatment as usual (TAU) (n = 40) over 10 months for individuals with personality disorder. Primary outcomes were measures of psychological symptoms and interpersonal difficulties. RESULTS:Participants receiving CAT showed reduced symptoms and experienced substantial benefits compared with TAU controls, who showed signs of deterioration during the treatment period. CONCLUSIONS: Cognitive analytic therapy is more effective than TAU in improving outcomes associated with personality disorder. More elaborate and controlled evaluations of CAT are needed in the future.
Authors: Sarah Ledden; Luke Sheridan Rains; Merle Schlief; Phoebe Barnett; Brian Chi Fung Ching; Brendan Hallam; Mia Maria Günak; Thomas Steare; Jennie Parker; Sarah Labovitch; Sian Oram; Steve Pilling; Sonia Johnson Journal: BMC Psychiatry Date: 2022-09-05 Impact factor: 4.144