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Borderline Personality DisorderBPDCHANGENCT03717818

Mechanisms of Change in Brief Treatment for Borderline Personality Disorder

A study testing Good Psychiatric Management - Brief and treatment as usual in people with Borderline Personality Disorder, run by University of Lausanne Hospitals at 1 site in Switzerland.

Completed

Finished. The study has ended and is not enrolling. Results may be posted on the official record.

Official record
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Trial summary

The present two-arm randomized controlled study aims at testing the effects (i.e., symptom reduction) and the underlying mechanisms of change associated with a brief psychiatric treatment (10 sessions over 4 months), compared with treatment as usual. Read more about this study

Who is it for?
Ages 18 to 50 years
Conditions the study is for
Borderline Personality Disorder
What is being tested?
Good Psychiatric Management - Brief and treatment as usual
Could I receive a placebo?
Yes, some participants may receive a placebo
How many people
76 participants
Where
1 siteSwitzerland
Study dates
19 Oct 2018to 31 Oct 2023
Phase
Interventional
Are there results?
None posted in the registry

Key requirements

Who can take part, as listed by the sponsor. Only the study team can confirm whether you are eligible, so take this list to your doctor.

  • Ages 18 to 50 years
  • All sexes
  • No healthy volunteers
  • Adult

Who may be able to join

  • Borderline Personality Disorder
  • age between 18 and 50

Who cannot join

  • non-mastery in French
  • neurological disorders
  • schizophrenia (according to DSM-5)

Trial locations and contacts

1 site in 1 country.

Switzerland1 site

  • Department of Psychiatry-CHUV, University of Lausanne

    Lausanne, Canton of Vaud, 1003

Other trials in Switzerland

About this study

Official title: Mechanisms of Change in Brief Treatment for Borderline Personality Disorder: A Randomized Controlled Trial

The present two-arm randomized controlled study aims at testing the effects (i.e., symptom reduction) and the underlying mechanisms of change associated with a brief psychiatric treatment (10 sessions over 4 months), compared with treatment as usual. Participants undergo assessments at four points (intake, 2 months, discharge and 12 month follow-up). In addition to symptom measures, all individuals undergo a two-step assessment for the potential mechanisms of change (i.e., emotion and socio-cognitive processing): a) behavioural and b) neurofunctional. We hypothesize that change in the mechanisms explains the treatment effects. The present study uses an innovative treatment of BPD and at the same time a sophisticated assessment procedure to demonstrate the critical role of psychobiological change in emotion and sociocognitive processing in brief treatments. It will help increase the effectiveness of initial treatment phase for BPD and help diminish the societal burden of disease related with BPD. This study is funded by the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF).

Being tested
Good Psychiatric Management - Brief, treatment as usual
Medical subject headings
Borderline Personality Disorder

What participants receive

What participants receive. In a randomised study each person is assigned to one group by chance.

  • Good Psychiatric Management - BriefBehavioural

    specific interventions as defined by Gunderson and Links (2014)

  • treatment as usualBehavioural

    non-specific intervention

Study groups in NCT03717818
Study groupRoleWhat they receive
Good Psychiatric Management-BriefExperimentalNot described
Receives: Behavioral: Good Psychiatric Management - Brief
Treatment as Usual-BriefPlacebo comparatorNot described
Receives: Behavioral: treatment as usual

What is being measured

The primary outcome is the main question the study is designed to answer.

  1. ZAN-BPD (Zanarini Borderline Personality Disorder Scale; Zanarini, 2003)

    measures borderline symptomatology from an dimensional perspective, ranges between 0 and 36 (36 being the most symptomatic), global score (sum of all 9 items coded between 0 and 4) used.

    Measured: 4 months

  2. Emotional processing: Classification of Affective Meaning States (CAMS;Pascual-Leone, 2009)

    based on two chair dialogues, changes between months 0 and 2 mediate the symptom changes between months 2 and 4

    Measured: months 0 to 2 mediate symptom change between months 2 and 4

Secondary outcomes (2)

  1. OQ-45 (Outcome Questionnaire-45.2, Lambert et al., 2004)

    measures the level of problems (distress, social and interpersonal) on a scale ranging from 0 to 180 (45 items coded between 0 and 4, 4 being the most symptomatic). A total sum score will be used

    Measured: 4 months

  2. BSL-23 (Borderline Symptom List, Short Version; Bohus et al., 2009)

    measures the intensity of borderline symptoms using a mean score of the 23 items ranging between 0 and 4 (4 being the most symptomatic), the mean score will be used.

    Measured: 4 months

Timeline

From the start of the study to its completion; the mark is today. Estimated dates are the sponsor’s plan.

  1. First posted24 Oct 2018
  2. Study start19 Oct 2018
  3. Primary completion31 Oct 2023
  4. Study completion31 Oct 2023

Resources

More details

For doctors and researchers: how the study is designed, who runs it, and its registry IDs.

Study design
Study type
Interventional
Phase
Phase N/A
Primary purpose
Treatment
Allocation
Randomised
Intervention model
Parallel groups
Masking
Single blind
Who is masked
Outcomes assessor
Enrolment
76 participants (actual)
IDs, dates and publications
ClinicalTrials.gov ID
NCT03717818
Sponsor's protocol ID
2017-02167
Other IDs
2017
Acronym
BPDCHANGE
Status last verified
Jun 2024
First submitted
22 Oct 2018
Last updated
29 Oct 2026
Results posted
No
Data monitoring committee
Yes
FDA-regulated drug
No
FDA-regulated device
No
Individual data sharing
Yes

Publications

  • Kramer U, Kolly S, Maillard P, Pascual-Leone A, Samson AC, Schmitt R, Bernini A, Allenbach G, Charbon P, de Roten Y, Conus P, Despland JN, Draganski B. Change in Emotional and Theory of Mind Processing in Borderline Personality Disorder: A Pilot Study. J Nerv Ment Dis. 2018 Dec;206(12):935-943. doi: 10.1097/NMD.0000000000000905.

    PubMed 30507735

  • Kramer U, Grandjean L, Beuchat H, Kolly S, Conus P, de Roten Y, Draganski B, Despland JN. Mechanisms of change in brief treatments for borderline personality disorder: a protocol of a randomized controlled trial. Trials. 2020 Apr 16;21(1):335. doi: 10.1186/s13063-020-4229-z.

    PubMed 32299512

  • Yilmaz M, Grandjean L, Beuchat H, Ranjbar S, de Roten Y, Felici C, Lingiardi V, Kramer U. Predicting Change in Brief Treatment for BPD: The Role of Defensive Functioning and Pervasiveness in Relationship Patterns. J Clin Psychol. 2026 Sep;82(9):1352-1364. doi: 10.1002/jclp.70161. Epub 2026 Jun 2.

    PubMed 42228959

  • Kramer U, Grandjean L, Machinea JB, Beuchat H, Ranjbar S, de Roten Y, Despland JN, Conus P, Kolly S. Emotional processing as mechanism of change in brief good psychiatric management for borderline personality disorder: results of a randomized controlled trial. BMC Psychiatry. 2024 Dec 18;24(1):921. doi: 10.1186/s12888-024-06370-2.

    PubMed 39696018

Questions about this trial

What is this clinical trial studying?

A study testing Good Psychiatric Management - Brief and treatment as usual in people with Borderline Personality Disorder, run by University of Lausanne Hospitals at 1 site in Switzerland.

The full registered description is in the About this study section and the official record.

Who may be eligible to take part?

The sponsor lists 2 inclusion and 3 exclusion criteria. Eligibility is decided by the study team after screening, so read the full criteria and contact a listed site.

Is this clinical trial currently recruiting?

The record says: finished, as of the sponsor's last update on 29 Oct 2026. Status can change between updates, so confirm with the study contact before making plans.

Where is the study taking place?

The record lists 1 site in Switzerland. Whether a site is taking part right now should be confirmed with that site. See every site.

What are the possible benefits and risks?

They depend on the study and the treatment, and no study can promise a benefit. Some participants in this study may receive a placebo. The study team explains the known risks during informed consent, before anyone joins; the record itself does not list them.

Are results available for this study?

The study is completed, but results are not available in the source record. That does not mean the treatment did or did not work.

How can a doctor refer a patient or contact the research team?

The record lists no contact. The official record names the sponsor, who can be asked directly. AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals.

What does the primary outcome measure?

ZAN-BPD (Zanarini Borderline Personality Disorder Scale; Zanarini, 2003) (time frame: 4 months). The study lists 2 primary outcomes in all. It is what the study was designed to measure, not a finding.

Where can I read the original study information?

On the ClinicalTrials.gov record for NCT03717818, which also lists 4 linked publications.

Does a listing mean the treatment is approved or proven to work?

No. A listing means the study is registered. It does not show that the treatment is safe, works, or is approved by a regulator.

How often is this information updated?

AzTrials copies changed records from ClinicalTrials.gov every night and reloads the whole registry every week. The sponsor last updated this record on 29 Oct 2026.

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