Internalization of the therapeutic process: differences between borderline and neurotic patients

Area of Science:

• Psychology
• Psychotherapy Research
• Clinical Psychology

Background:

• The intersession process in psychotherapy involves patients' thoughts and feelings between sessions.
• Understanding this process is crucial for effective treatment.
• Borderline personality disorder (BPD) presents unique challenges in therapeutic relationships.

Purpose of the Study:

• To compare the intersession process in patients with severe borderline personality disorder (BPD) versus patients with other neurotic disturbances.
• To investigate how BPD affects patients' internalization of in-session therapeutic experiences.

Main Methods:

• A comparative study involving 76 patients with neurotic disturbances and 20 patients with BPD.
• Data collected using the Intersession Experience Questionnaire (IEQ) and the Session Questionnaire (Stundenbogen).
• Patients completed questionnaires before and after individual psychotherapy sessions in a therapeutic day clinic.

Main Results:

• Significant differences were observed in the intersession process and postsession outcomes between the two groups.
• BPD patients exhibited markedly different patterns in evaluating and internalizing therapeutic experiences.
• Most prominently, BPD patients reported more negative and contradictory emotions regarding their therapy sessions.

Conclusions:

• The intersession process and its impact on therapeutic outcomes differ substantially between BPD patients and those with other neurotic disturbances.
• BPD patients' tendency to internalize sessions with negative and contradictory emotions warrants specific clinical attention.
• Findings underscore the importance of considering the intersession process in tailoring psychotherapy for BPD.