Central Meditation and Imagery Therapy for Augmentation of Borderline Personality Disorder Treatment

Pilot Study of Central Meditation and Imagery Therapy for Borderline Personality Disorder

Borderline personality disorder is a severe psychiatric disorder marked by emotional instability, difficulty with interpersonal relationships, and self-harming behaviors. Despite receiving psychotherapy for borderline personality disorder, studies show that patient recovery is slow, and there is a high rate of self injury and suicide attempts early in treatment. There is thus a clear need to provide therapies to augment psychotherapy. We will conduct a pilot trial to determine whether a 6-week Central Meditation and Imagery Therapy (CMIT) is feasible for subjects with borderline personality disorder to undergo when added on to psychotherapy treatment. CMIT is a non-validated therapy that combines principles of mindfulness with meditation techniques and guided imagery. Sessions led by a trained clinician in a group setting once a week, and participants are asked to complete daily home practice.

The trial will involve 16 participants, all currently undergoing psychotherapy for borderline personality disorder. Participants will be randomly assigned to either a CMIT group that lasts 6 weeks, or a wait list group. Those in the wait list group will be able to receive CMIT after 6 weeks. All participants will continue to receive psychotherapy throughout the trial.

During the trial, we will also obtain preliminary data to help understand whether CMIT may result in psychological benefits for participants. This will include measuring the pulse in order to determine variation in beat to beat intervals of the heart during psychological tests, and filling out questionnaires before and after participation in CMIT.

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Borderline Personality Disorder
• Intervention / Treatment: Behavioral: Central Meditation and Imagery Therapy

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Actual): 15
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• United States
  • California
    • Los Angeles, California, United States, 90095
      • University of California, Los Angeles

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 18 years and older (Adult, Older Adult)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No
• Genders Eligible for Study: All

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• Meeting the diagnostic criteria for BPD according to DSM-IV criteria
• Meeting the diagnostic criteria for BPD based on the Diagnostic Interview for Borderline - Revised
• Currently receiving psychotherapy.
• English language proficiency to understand written and oral communication

Exclusion Criteria:

• Active suicidality or suicidal intent as identified on the Columbia Suicide Severity Rating Scale
• Suicide attempt within the past month

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Treatment
• Allocation: Randomized
• Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
• Masking: Single

Number of Arms

2

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: meditation; Central Meditation and Imagery Therapy	Behavioral: Central Meditation and Imagery Therapy; mindfulness, guided imagery, meditation
No Intervention: wait list; waiting list

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Borderline Symptoms	Borderline Symptom List	6 weeks

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Depression	Quick Inventory of Depressive Symptoms	6 weeks
Anxiety	Trait Anxiety Inventory	6 weeks
Positive Affect	Positive and Negative Affect Scale	6 weeks

Other Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Heart rate variability	Resting heart rate variability	6 weeks

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: University of California, San Francisco
• Investigators: Principal Investigator: Felipe A Jain, MD, University of California, Los Angeles

Publications and helpful links

General Publications

• Storebo OJ, Stoffers-Winterling JM, Vollm BA, Kongerslev MT, Mattivi JT, Jorgensen MS, Faltinsen E, Todorovac A, Sales CP, Callesen HE, Lieb K, Simonsen E. Psychological therapies for people with borderline personality disorder. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2020 May 4;5(5):CD012955. doi: 10.1002/14651858.CD012955.pub2.

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start: April 1, 2014
• Primary Completion (Actual): September 1, 2015
• Study Completion (Actual): September 1, 2015

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: April 26, 2014
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: April 26, 2014
• First Posted (Estimate): April 29, 2014

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): January 13, 2021
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: January 11, 2021
• Last Verified: January 1, 2021

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: Borderline Personality Disorder
• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Mental Disorders; Pathologic Processes; Personality Disorders; Disease; Borderline Personality Disorder
• Other Study ID Numbers: CMIT1044