Clinical Neuropsychiatry (2014) 11 EPUB AHEAD OF PRINT EvAlUATION OF NARRATIvE ExPOsURE THERAPy (NET) FOR BORDERlINE PERsONAlITy DIsORDER wITH cOmORBID POsTTRAUmATIc sTREss DIsORDER

Objective: Frequently patients with borderline personality disorder (BPD) report a history of exposure to traumatic stressors and, as a consequence, symptoms of Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTsD). BPD and PTsD combined exacerbate suffering beyond a simple additive effect. To assist these complex cases, we have tested the efficacy of Narrative Exposure Therapy (NET), an evidence-based treatment for survivors of different, multiple or continued traumatic stressors and compared the outcome with the one from a standard Treatment by Experts for Borderline Personality Disorder (TBE) Method: In both an inpatient and outpatient setting, patients with BPD and comorbid PTsD (N=22) were assigned to NET or a TBE. They received either weekly sessions of NET (on average 17) or TBE (on average 14). changes in symptoms were evaluated prior to therapy, at 6 months and 1 year post-therapy. Results: Both treatment forms reduced all of the symptoms (PTsD, borderline, depression and dissociation) substantially. The decrease continued throughout the 12 months follow-up period producing large effects. Greatest effect sizes with Hedge’s g =1.6; cI 0.6 – 2.5 was obtained for the reduction of PTsD symptoms by NET (g=1.1; cI 0.2 – 2.0 for TBE) and depression (g=1.4 for NET and g=0.7 TBE). Conclusions: The results of this evaluation study showed a considerable reduction for the whole spectrum o