Comparing the effectiveness of short-term psychodynamic therapy and mentalization on self-injurious behaviors in individuals with borderline personality structure

Abstract

Objective: The aim of the present study was to compare the effectiveness of short-term psychodynamic therapy and mentalization on self-injurious behaviors in individuals with borderline personality structure. Method: The research method was a quasi-experimental study with a pre-test-post-test design and a control group with a 2-month follow-up. The statistical population of this study included all individuals with borderline personality structure referring to clinics in the west of Tehran in the second half (October to March) of 2025; from which 45 individuals were selected using a purposive sampling method and randomly assigned to three groups (15 individuals in two experimental groups and 15 individuals in a control group). The assessment tools included the Kernberg Personality Organization Questionnaire (2002) and the Sanson et al. Self-injurious Questionnaire (1998). The first experimental group underwent mentalization-based therapy sessions based on the Bateman and Fonagy protocol (2016) and the Duvanlo (1995) short-term intensive dynamic psychotherapy protocol for 9 sessions of 90 minutes once a week. Repeated measures analysis of variance was used for analysis. Findings: The findings showed that short-term psychodynamic therapy was not effective on self-injurious behaviors in individuals with borderline personality structure (P<0.05), but in contrast, mentalization therapy led to a reduction in self-injurious behaviors in individuals with borderline personality structure (P<0.01). Conclusion: As a result, mentalization therapy can be used as an effective treatment method to improve self-injurious behaviors in individuals with borderline personality structure. Keywords: mentalization therapy, short-term psychodynamic therapy, self-injurious behaviors, borderline personality structure.