An interventional study of Trauma focused psychotherapy: EMDR in Borderline Personality Disorder, sponsored by Azienda Socio Sanitaria Territoriale degli Spedali Civili di Brescia. Recruiting at 1 site in Italy. Open to participants aged 18 Years to 65 Years. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2026-02-25.
Sponsored by Azienda Socio Sanitaria Territoriale degli Spedali Civili di Brescia · Not applicable, Interventional, and Treatment
Borderline personality disorder (BPD) is a severe mental disorder characterized by four major symptomatological domains: interpersonal instability, perceptive and identity disorders, emotional and behavioural dysregulation. Considering a multifactorial etiological model, it has been suggested that the interaction between behavioral, environmental and genetic factors may promote the development of BPD. Early life stress events (ELS) in childhood and adolescence are highly prevalent in this population and constitute an environmental risk factor for the development of BPD. This correlates with the fact that Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is frequently comorbid in BPD leading to more severe symptoms and worse psychosocial functioning. At the therapeutic level, the treatment of BPD is an open challenge as psychotherapeutic interventions are of limited effectiveness and characterized by high drop-out rates. Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) is the gold standard for treating PTSD. However, scientific evidence on the application of EMDR in patients with BPD is limited. This study aims to assess the feasibility and effectiveness of an EMDR protocol on the nuclear symptomatology of BPD (emotional and behavioral dysregulation) in a group of DBP patients with/without PTSD comorbidity, through a systematic assessment of the peculiar dimensions of the disorder. The basic hypothesis is that EMDR, through a short-term intervention, can act both on the traumatic PTSD-like experiences reported by patients and on the clinical manifestations peculiar to DBP, in particular by improving the emotional regulation capacity of patients with BPD.
278 studies on the registry are indexed under Borderline Personality Disorder; 70 are open to participants now.
This study's planned enrollment of 56 is below the median of 70 across 221 interventional studies indexed under Borderline Personality Disorder.
Browse Borderline Personality Disorder studies →Azienda Socio Sanitaria Territoriale degli Spedali Civili di Brescia is the lead sponsor of 84 studies on the registry; 15 are open to participants now.
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Exclusion Criteria:
Underlined terms in the criteria open these too. Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
The American Psychiatric Association’s manual of mental health diagnoses. DSM-5 (2013, revised as DSM-5-TR in 2022) replaced DSM-IV, and some studies still name the older edition. “Meets DSM criteria for …” means diagnosed by that edition’s diagnostic criteria, usually by a clinician in an interview.
DSM diagnostic criteria
The American Psychiatric Association’s manual of mental health diagnoses. DSM-5 (2013, revised as DSM-5-TR in 2022) replaced DSM-IV, and some studies still name the older edition. “Meets DSM criteria for …” means diagnosed by that edition’s diagnostic criteria, usually by a clinician in an interview.
Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
14 sessions of psychotherapy with EMDR will be carried out with patients. One session per week, lasting 90 minutes. The first two sessions will be used for the description of the EMDR method and for stabilization, then there will be treatment sessions.
Other: Trauma focused psychotherapy: EMDR
Treatment as usual
14 sessions of psychotherapy with EMDR will be carried out with patients. One session per week, lasting 90 minutes. The first two sessions will be used for the description of the EMDR method and for stabilization, then there will be treatment sessions.
Core symptoms of BPD
The primary outcome is the improvement of the core symptoms of BPD, measured by the Zanarini Rating Scale for Borderline Personality Disorder (ZAN-BPD). The scale ranges from 0 to 36, with higher scores indicating greater severity.
Time frame: 4 timepoints: baseline (T0), after 6 (T6), 12 (T12), 18 (T18) weeks
Self perception of BPD symptoms
Self perception of BPD symptoms measured by the Borderline Symptom List 23 (BSL-23). The scale ranges from 0 to 4, with higher scores indicating greater severity.
Time frame: 4 timepoints: baseline (T0), after 6 (T6), 12 (T12), 18 (T18) weeks
Emotion disregulation
Emotion disregulation measured by the Difficulties in emotion regulation scale (DERS-36). The scale ranges from 36 to 180, with higher scores indicating greater difficulties in emotion regulation.
Time frame: 4 timepoints: baseline (T0), after 6 (T6), 12 (T12), 18 (T18) weeks
Ruminative thinking
Ruminative thinking measured by the Rumination Response Scale (RRS). The scale ranges from 22 to 88, with higher scores indicating greater rumination.
Time frame: 4 timepoints: baseline (T0), after 6 (T6), 12 (T12), 18 (T18) weeks
Dissociative symptoms
Dissociative symptoms measured by the Dissociative Experiences Scale (DES). The scale ranges from 0 to 100, with higher scores indicating greater dissociative experiences.
Time frame: 4 timepoints: baseline (T0), after 6 (T6), 12 (T12), 18 (T18) weeks
Plan to share: Yes
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Borderline Personality Disorder →
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