Fra lidelse til relasjonell kompetanse: Bedrer dialektisk atferdsterapi interpersonlig fungering hos pasienter med Borderline personlighetsforstyrrelse?

This paper evaluates the effectiveness of dialectical behavior therapy (DBT) in improving interpersonal functioning in patients diagnosed with Borderline personality disorder (BPD), presenting the results from both quantitative and qualitative studies. The paper includes the investigation of three different modes of the treatment; standardized DBT, modified DBT, and DBT skills training groups. Results from both quantitative and qualitative studies indicate that DBT is effective in improving interpersonal functioning in BPD patients, while the qualitative studies also among other things demonstrate some important connections between interpersonal functioning and other BPD symptoms, in addition to suggesting that DBT can be applied in the treatment of various patient groups and in different kinds of settings. Moreover, the results from the quantitative studies indicate that standardized DBT is more effective than modified DBT and DBT skills training groups. Though these results are promising, interpersonal functioning was treated only as a secondary measure in most of the quantitative studies, and the number of both types of studies meeting the inclusion criteria is relatively low. More research is needed in the field, where interpersonal functioning should be given more attention and treated as a primary measure. Key words: Dialectical behavior therapy, Borderline personality disorder, interpersonal functioning