CClinicalTrials.gg
Status unknownNCT03833453PROSPER-BUpdated Sep 23, 2020

Effectiveness of PTSD-treatment Compared to Integrated PTSD-PD-treatment in Adult Patients With Comorbid PTSD and BPD

An interventional study of EMDR and DBT in Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD), sponsored by Arkin. Status unknown at 1 site in Netherlands. Open to participants aged 18 Years to 65 Years, including healthy volunteers. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2020-09-23.

Sponsored by Arkin · Not applicable, Interventional, and Treatment

The sponsor has not verified this record recently (last verified Sep 2020), so the status shown — last known as Recruiting — may be out of date.

From the registry’s dates

  • Registered 7 months after the study started (first participant enrolled Jun 2018, registered Jan 2019).
Phase
Not applicable
Study type
Interventional
Enrollment
126
Allocation
Randomized
Ages
18 Years to 65 Years
Sex
All
01

Study summary

The goal of PROSPER-B is to study effectiveness of EMDR compared to integrated DBT-EMDR in treatment-seeking, adult patients with comorbid PTSD and Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD).

Read the detailed description

Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is highly comorbid with personality disorders (PD), mainly borderline (BPD) and cluster C personality disorders (CPD). It is not clear yet what treatment is most effective for those who suffer both PTSD and PD. There is growing preference in clinicians for evidence-based PTSD treatments, such as Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) or Imagination and Rescripting (ImRs), because these treatments are relative short, and there is some evidence that comorbid PD symptoms might resolve as well. However, at least 30-44% PTSD patients do not sufficiently respond to PTSD treatments or are excluded because of suicidality or self-harm. PD treatments are more intensive than PTSD treatments, e.g. Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) and Schema-Focused Therapy (SFT) . There is some evidence that integrated PTSD-PD treatment is twice as effective than PD treatment alone, but integrated PTSD-PD treatment is not yet directly compared to PTSD treatment alone. This study will address this knowledge gap, including secondary outcome measures on functioning, quality of life and cost-effectiveness.

For patients with comorbid PTSD and BPD, EMDR-only will be compared to integrated EMDR-DGT (PROSPER-B).

Psychological (cognitive, affective, and relational) and neurobiological candidate predictors and mediators of treatment outcome will be investigated through a machine-learning paradigm, in order to develop a clinically useful and individual prediction instrument of treatment outcome. Example predictors and mediators are educational level , working memory, hyper- and hypo-arousal , therapeutic alliance and social support, resting state fMRI, an emotional face task fMRI , cortisol levels from hair samples and (epi)genetic markers. For the neurobiological prediction, a subgroup of patients will undergo MRI scans, as will healthy controls as control subjects.

02

Conditions studied

  • Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
  • Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD)

Keywords

  • PTSD
  • BPD
  • Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing (EMDR)
  • Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT)
  • Integrated treatment
  • Prediction
03

In context

Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic

2,239 studies on the registry are indexed under Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic; 554 are open to participants now.

This study's planned enrollment of 126 is above the median of 70 across 1,858 interventional studies indexed under Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic.

Browse Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic studies →

Lead sponsor

Arkin is the lead sponsor of 6 studies on the registry; 3 are open to participants now.

Counted across the registry records on this site, refreshed daily.

04

Who can participate

Ages eligible
18 Years to 65 Years
Sexes eligible
All
Accepts healthy volunteers
Yes

Inclusion criteria

  • Diagnosed with PTSD (309.81), and
  • Diagnosed with a borderline personality disorder (301.83) or at least 4 BPD symptoms

To be eligible for the study, both patients and healthy controls (for the MRI scans) have to:

  • Be aged between 18 and 65 years
  • Give written informed consent
  • Speak / understand Dutch sufficiently

Exclusion criteria

Exclusion criteria:

  • Current psychosis
  • Comorbidity interfering with treatment or randomisation (severe outward aggression, antisocial PD, treatment interfering addiction or eating disorders, somatic problems)
  • Primary diagnosis of paranoid, schizoid, schizotypal, narcissistic, histrionic or antisocial PD
  • Mental retardation

Additional exclusion criteria for the MRI substudy are:

  • Pregnancy
  • Metal implants (such as pacemakers, etc.);
  • Somatic disorders interfering with brain functioning
  • Claustrophobia
  • High dose use of benzodiazepines

For the healthy controls, current psychiatric diagnosis is an additional exclusion criterion.

05

Study design

Phase
Not applicable
Primary purpose
Treatment
Allocation
Randomized
Intervention model
Parallel assignment
Masking
Double (Investigator, Outcomes assessor)
Enrollment
126 participants (estimated)

Study arms

  • Active comparator
    PTSD-EMDR

    PTSD treatment

    Behavioral: EMDR

  • Experimental
    Integrated DBT-EMDR

    Integrated PTSD-PD-treatment

    Behavioral: EMDR · Behavioral: DBT

Interventions

  • BehavioralEMDR

    EMDR is a PTSD treatment that specifically addresses troubling memories of and the personal meaning of the traumatic event and consists of 12 to 18 sessions in a maximum of 6 months.

  • BehavioralDBT

    DBT is a treatment for personality disorders (PD) focused on emotion regulation. It takes at least one group-session per week, and one individual coaching session every two weeks, for the duration of one year.

06

What researchers measure

Primary outcomes

  1. CAPS-5 (Clinician Administered PTSD Scale)

    The CAPS-5 is a structured diagnostic interview to assess the frequency and severity of DSM-5 PTSD symptoms. The interview consists of 30 items, with higher scores indicating more severe symptomatology. CAPS-5 total symptom severity score is calculated by summing severity scores for the 20 DSM-5 PTSD symptoms. Similarly, CAPS-5 symptom cluster severity scores are calculated by summing the individual item severity scores for symptoms corresponding to a given DSM-5 cluster: Criterion B (items 1-5); Criterion C (items 6-7); Criterion D (items 8-14); and, Criterion E (items 15-20). A symptom cluster score may also be calculated for dissociation by summing items 19 and 20. To meet the criteria for PTSD diagnoses, at least one Criterion B and one Criterion C symptom, and two criterion D and E symptoms are required. Furthermore, Criterion F and G should be met.

    Time frame: 12 months

Secondary outcomes

  1. SCID-5-PD (Structured Interview for DSM-5 Personality Disorders)

    The SCID-5-PD is a semi-structured interview to assess the presence and severity of the DSM-5 personality disorders. Diagnoses are made either categorically (present or absent) or dimensionally (summing the ratings for each symptom, which are rated 0, 1 or 2).

    Time frame: 12 months

  2. PCL-5 (PTSD Checklist for DSM-5)

    The PCL-5 is a self-reported PTSD symptom scale. It consists of 20 items, scored 0 ("not at all") to 4 ("Extremely"). This is summed for total self-reported PTSD-severity, range 0 (no self-reported PTSD-symptoms in the past month) to 80 (extreme self-reported PTSD-symptoms in the past month). There are subscales for the different PTSD symptom clusters; cluster B (question 1-5), C (6-7); D (8-14) and E (15-20).

    Time frame: 12 months

  3. Outcome Questionnaire -45 (OQ-45)

    The OQ-45 is a self-report questionnaire that measures general functioning and physical complaints in the past week. It consists of 45 items; 25 items on psychiatric symptoms and 20 on interpersonal, occupational and social functioning. These are rated from 0 ("Never") to 4 ("Almost always"). Some items need to be reversed in scoring. There are four subscales: Symptomatic Distress (25 items); Interpersonal Relationships (11 items) and Social Role (9 items). A higher score indicates worse functioning.

    Time frame: 12 months

  4. Beck depression inventory (BDI)

    The BDI is a 21-item self-report questionnaire assessing the severity of depression. Each item consists of four statements indicating different levels of severity of a particular symptom experienced over the past week, ranging from low (0) to high (3) severity. Scores for all 21 items are summed to yield a single depression, with a maximum depression score of 63.

    Time frame: 12 months

  5. AUDIT (Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test)

    The AUDIT is a self-report questionnaire, with 10 items about alcohol use. These range from 0 ("Never") to 4 ("Daily"). The items are summed to create a total score from 0 (no alcohol risk) to 40 (maximum alcohol risk). The first three questions are about alcohol consumption, question 4-6 about alcohol dependency and question 7-10 about alcohol related problems.

    Time frame: 12 months

  6. SCID-5-S (Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-5 Disorders - syndrome disorders)

    The SCID-5-S is a clinician administered semistructured clinical interview to assess DSM-5 disorders (but not personality disorders). It consists of in total 14 modules, comparable to the DSM-5. Patients are assessed on the disorder, resulting in a score of absent/present for each disorder. In this study, we use the modules current depressive episode, current manic episode, current persistent depressive disorder, delusions \& hallucinations, alcohol abuse, substance abuse, panic disorder, agoraphobia, specific phobia, generalized anxiety disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder, current anorexia, bulimia and binge eating disorder.

    Time frame: 12 months

  7. WHODAS 2.0 (World Health Organization Disability Assessment Schedule)

    WHODAS 2.0 is a 36-item self-report questionnaire assessing the daily function of activity and participation within the 30 previous days, including the following six domains: Cognition, Mobility, Self-care, Getting along, Life activities and Participation. The responses on each item range from no difficulty (1) to extreme difficulty (5). Responses to the six dimensions are weighted and summed to create a total score between 0 (no disability) and 100 (complete disability).

    Time frame: 12 months

  8. EQ-5D-5L (EuroQOL - 5 Dimensions - 5 Levels)

    The EQ-5D-5L measures health-related quality of life and consists of five dimensions: mobility, self-care, usual activities, pain/discomfort and anxiety/depression. Each dimension has 5 levels: no problems, slight problems, moderate problems, severe problems and extreme problems. The answer to each item results in a 1-digit number that expresses the level selected for that dimension. The digits for the five dimensions can be combined into a 5-digit number that describes the patient's health state, with higher numbers indicating more severe problems.

    Time frame: 12 months

  9. Tic-P (Trimbos/iMTA questionnaire for costs associated with psychiatric illness)

    TiC-P is a self-report questionnaire assessing direct medical costs and productivity costs due to absence from work or reduced efficiency during work in patients with a mental disorder. The first part of the TiC-P includes 14 structured yes or no questions on the use of medical resources, each followed by a question on the volume of medical consumption. The second part includes five items on work absence, reduced efficiency at work and related productivity losses.

    Time frame: 12 months

  10. NSSI (Non-suicidal Self-injury)

    The NSSI screener consists of 7 multiple-choice items assessing non-suicidal self-injury. In case of an affirmative responses to the item 'Have you ever done any of the following with the purpose of intentionally hurting yourself?' engagement in NSSI is determined.

    Time frame: 12 months

  11. PAI-BOR (Personality Assessment Inventory- Borderline features scale)

    The Personality Assessment Inventory-Borderline Features (PAI-BOR) Scale is a self-report measure assessing the presence and severity of BPD. The BAI-BOR consists of four subscales of six items each, reflecting four main characteristics of BPD: affective instability, negative relationships, identity problems and self-harm. Each items is rated on a four-point scale, ranging from false (0) to very true (3). A total PAI-BOR score of 38 or more indicates the presence of significant BPD features, whereas a score of 60 or more indicates typical borderline personality functioning.

    Time frame: 12 months

  12. STAS (State-Trait Anxiety Inventory)

    The State-Trait Anger Scale (STAS) is a 20-item questionnaire assessing state and trait anger. Both types of anger are assessed through 10 items, that are scored on a four-point rating scale, ranging from not at all (0) to very much so (4). The STAS has acceptable to strong internal consistency (Kroner \& Reddon, 1992).

    Time frame: 12 months

  13. DERS (Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale)

    The Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale (DERS) is a 41-item self-report measure to assess clinically relevant difficulties in emotion regulation. DERS items reflect difficulties within four dimensions of emotion regulation: awareness and understanding of emotions, acceptance of emotions, the ability to engage in goal-directed behaviour and to refrain from impulsive behaviour, and access to effective emotion regulation strategies. Items are scored on a five-point scale, ranging from almost never (1) to almost always (5). Although the Dutch version of DERS (DERS-NL) has not been validated yet, the original DERS showed high internal consistency, good test-retest reliability and adequate construct and predictive validity (Gratz \& Roemer, 2004).

    Time frame: 12 months

07

Study locations

1 of 1 sites recruiting
  • Sinai Centrum
    Amstelveen, Noord-Holand 1180EB, Netherlands
    Recruiting
08

References and documents

Publications

  • Bradley R, Greene J, Russ E, Dutra L, Westen D. A multidimensional meta-analysis of psychotherapy for PTSD. Am J Psychiatry. 2005 Feb;162(2):214-27. doi: 10.1176/appi.ajp.162.2.214. Erratum In: Am J Psychiatry. 2005 Apr;162(4):832. Am J Psychiatry. 2006 Feb;163(2):330. PubMed 15677582 ↗
  • Harned MS, Korslund KE, Linehan MM. A pilot randomized controlled trial of Dialectical Behavior Therapy with and without the Dialectical Behavior Therapy Prolonged Exposure protocol for suicidal and self-injuring women with borderline personality disorder and PTSD. Behav Res Ther. 2014 Apr;55:7-17. doi: 10.1016/j.brat.2014.01.008. Epub 2014 Feb 11. PubMed 24562087 ↗
  • Ehlers A, Clark DM, Hackmann A, McManus F, Fennell M. Cognitive therapy for post-traumatic stress disorder: development and evaluation. Behav Res Ther. 2005 Apr;43(4):413-31. doi: 10.1016/j.brat.2004.03.006. PubMed 15701354 ↗
  • Lanius RA, Vermetten E, Loewenstein RJ, Brand B, Schmahl C, Bremner JD, Spiegel D. Emotion modulation in PTSD: Clinical and neurobiological evidence for a dissociative subtype. Am J Psychiatry. 2010 Jun;167(6):640-7. doi: 10.1176/appi.ajp.2009.09081168. Epub 2010 Apr 1. PubMed 20360318 ↗
  • Nijdam MJ, de Vries GJ, Gersons BP, Olff M. Response to psychotherapy for posttraumatic stress disorder: the role of pretreatment verbal memory performance. J Clin Psychiatry. 2015 Aug;76(8):e1023-8. doi: 10.4088/JCP.14m09438. PubMed 26335088 ↗
  • van Rooij SJ, Kennis M, Vink M, Geuze E. Predicting Treatment Outcome in PTSD: A Longitudinal Functional MRI Study on Trauma-Unrelated Emotional Processing. Neuropsychopharmacology. 2016 Mar;41(4):1156-65. doi: 10.1038/npp.2015.257. Epub 2015 Aug 20. PubMed 26289143 ↗
  • Cloitre M, Stovall-McClough KC, Miranda R, Chemtob CM. Therapeutic alliance, negative mood regulation, and treatment outcome in child abuse-related posttraumatic stress disorder. J Consult Clin Psychol. 2004 Jun;72(3):411-6. doi: 10.1037/0022-006X.72.3.411. PubMed 15279525 ↗
  • Bryant RA, Felmingham K, Kemp A, Das P, Hughes G, Peduto A, Williams L. Amygdala and ventral anterior cingulate activation predicts treatment response to cognitive behaviour therapy for post-traumatic stress disorder. Psychol Med. 2008 Apr;38(4):555-61. doi: 10.1017/S0033291707002231. Epub 2007 Nov 16. PubMed 18005496 ↗
  • Brewin CR, Andrews B, Valentine JD. Meta-analysis of risk factors for posttraumatic stress disorder in trauma-exposed adults. J Consult Clin Psychol. 2000 Oct;68(5):748-66. doi: 10.1037//0022-006x.68.5.748. PubMed 11068961 ↗
  • Bisson J, Andrew M. Psychological treatment of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2007 Jul 18;(3):CD003388. doi: 10.1002/14651858.CD003388.pub3. PubMed 17636720 ↗
  • Bisson JI, Roberts NP, Andrew M, Cooper R, Lewis C. Psychological therapies for chronic post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in adults. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2013 Dec 13;2013(12):CD003388. doi: 10.1002/14651858.CD003388.pub4. PubMed 24338345 ↗
  • Clarke SB, Rizvi SL, Resick PA. Borderline personality characteristics and treatment outcome in cognitive-behavioral treatments for PTSD in female rape victims. Behav Ther. 2008 Mar;39(1):72-8. doi: 10.1016/j.beth.2007.05.002. Epub 2007 Oct 22. PubMed 18328872 ↗
  • Feeny NC, Zoellner LA, Foa EB. Treatment outcome for chronic PTSD among female assault victims with borderline personality characteristics: a preliminary examination. J Pers Disord. 2002 Feb;16(1):30-40. doi: 10.1521/pedi.16.1.30.22555. PubMed 11881159 ↗
  • Frias A, Palma C. Comorbidity between post-traumatic stress disorder and borderline personality disorder: a review. Psychopathology. 2015;48(1):1-10. doi: 10.1159/000363145. Epub 2014 Sep 9. PubMed 25227722 ↗
  • Hembree EA, Cahill SP, Foa EB. Impact of personality disorders on treatment outcome for female assault survivors with chronic posttraumatic stress disorder. J Pers Disord. 2004 Feb;18(1):117-27. doi: 10.1521/pedi.18.1.117.32767. PubMed 15061348 ↗
  • Roberts BW, Luo J, Briley DA, Chow PI, Su R, Hill PL. A systematic review of personality trait change through intervention. Psychol Bull. 2017 Feb;143(2):117-141. doi: 10.1037/bul0000088. Epub 2017 Jan 5. PubMed 28054797 ↗
  • Kredlow MA, Szuhany KL, Lo S, Xie H, Gottlieb JD, Rosenberg SD, Mueser KT. Cognitive behavioral therapy for posttraumatic stress disorder in individuals with severe mental illness and borderline personality disorder. Psychiatry Res. 2017 Mar;249:86-93. doi: 10.1016/j.psychres.2016.12.045. Epub 2017 Jan 4. PubMed 28086181 ↗
  • Stoffers JM, Vollm BA, Rucker G, Timmer A, Huband N, Lieb K. Psychological therapies for people with borderline personality disorder. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2012 Aug 15;2012(8):CD005652. doi: 10.1002/14651858.CD005652.pub2. PubMed 22895952 ↗
  • Raabe S, Ehring T, Marquenie L, Olff M, Kindt M. Imagery Rescripting as stand-alone treatment for posttraumatic stress disorder related to childhood abuse. J Behav Ther Exp Psychiatry. 2015 Sep;48:170-6. doi: 10.1016/j.jbtep.2015.03.013. Epub 2015 Apr 4. PubMed 25898289 ↗
  • Arntz A, Tiesema M, Kindt M. Treatment of PTSD: a comparison of imaginal exposure with and without imagery rescripting. J Behav Ther Exp Psychiatry. 2007 Dec;38(4):345-70. doi: 10.1016/j.jbtep.2007.10.006. Epub 2007 Oct 26. PubMed 18005935 ↗
  • Farrell JM, Shaw IA, Webber MA. A schema-focused approach to group psychotherapy for outpatients with borderline personality disorder: a randomized controlled trial. J Behav Ther Exp Psychiatry. 2009 Jun;40(2):317-28. doi: 10.1016/j.jbtep.2009.01.002. Epub 2009 Jan 14. Erratum In: J Behav Ther Exp Psychiatry. 2018 Sep;60:111. doi: 10.1016/j.jbtep.2018.04.001. PubMed 19176222 ↗
  • Aarts I, Vriend C, Snoek A, van den End A, Blankers M, Beekman ATF, Dekker J, van den Heuvel OA, Thomaes K. Neural correlates of treatment effect and prediction of treatment outcome in patients with PTSD and comorbid personality disorder: study design. Borderline Personal Disord Emot Dysregul. 2021 May 5;8(1):13. doi: 10.1186/s40479-021-00156-8. PubMed 33947471 ↗
  • Snoek A, Beekman ATF, Dekker J, Aarts I, van Grootheest G, Blankers M, Vriend C, van den Heuvel O, Thomaes K. A randomized controlled trial comparing the clinical efficacy and cost-effectiveness of eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR) and integrated EMDR-Dialectical Behavioural Therapy (DBT) in the treatment of patients with post-traumatic stress disorder and comorbid (Sub)clinical borderline personality disorder: study design. BMC Psychiatry. 2020 Aug 6;20(1):396. doi: 10.1186/s12888-020-02713-x. PubMed 32762677 ↗
  • 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. PubMed 32368793 ↗

Study documents

  • Protocol and statistical analysis plan · Jun 22, 2020

Documents are hosted by the registry — open the source record to download them.

Individual participant data

Plan to share: Undecided — There is no concrete plan for sharing yet, possibly neurobiological and (epi)genetic data will be shared in a later stage. Patients are asked to sign consent forms for future data sharing.

09

Updates

Tracking since Sep 25, 2026
No changes since tracking began. The registry record was last updated on Sep 23, 2020, before this site started recording changes on Sep 25, 2026. Its history is on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗
10

Registry details

Key details

Study ID
NCT03833453
Lead sponsor
Arkin
Collaborators
Sinai Centrum, Arkin, The Netherlands, Amsterdam UMC, location VUmc, Stichting Steunfonds Joodse Geestelijke Gezondheidszorg (SSF JGG), Ziekenhuis Amstelland, Meander Medisch Centrum
Responsible party
Sponsor
First posted
Feb 7, 2019
Start date
Jun 1, 2018
Primary completion
Apr 2, 2022 (estimated)
Completion
Apr 2, 2023 (estimated)
Last update
Sep 23, 2020

Study contacts

Aishah Snoek, MSc
Contact
aishah.snoek@sinaicentrum.nl
0031-20-5457200
Inga Aarts, MSc
Contact
inga.aarts@sinaicentrum.nl
0031-20-5457200
Kathleen Thomaes, MD/PhD
principal investigator · Sinai Center

Oversight

Data monitoring committee
No
FDA-regulated drug
No
FDA-regulated device
No
View the source record on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗

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