Comparison of Emotion-Focused Therapy Approach and Meta-Diagnostic Protocol on Emotion Regulation in Adolescents with Borderline Personality Disorder

Objective: This study aims to evaluate the effectiveness of an emotion-focused therapy approach and a meta-diagnostic protocol in improving emotion regulation among adolescents with borderline disorder. Methods and Materials: The study was a quasi-experimental design utilizing a pre-test-post-test and follow-up approach (three months later) with both control and experimental groups. The statistical population for this research comprised young individuals with borderline personality disorder seeking treatment at psychological clinics in Tehran from July to October 2023. A sample of 39 individuals was purposefully selected to participate in the study. The intervention, which consisted of six sessions conducted twice a week by a clinical psychologist, took place at one of the clinics involved in the study. The Cognitive Emotion Regulation Questionnaire (CERQ) was utilized as the measurement tool in this research. Data collected was analyzed using the Kruskal-Wallis H test, repeated measures ANCOVA, and Bonferroni's post hoc test with a p-value set at 0.05. Statistical analysis was performed using SPSS version 27 and JASP version 18.1.0 software. Findings: The findings of this study indicated that the component of other blame showed a significant difference between the Emotion-focused therapy group and the control group during the follow-up phase (p<0.001). Similarly, there was no notable difference between the Meta-diagnostic therapy group and the control group during the follow-up phase (p=1.000). Additionally, there was a significant distinction between the Emotion-focused therapy group and the Meta-diagnostic group during the follow-up phase (p<0.001). The variables of Self-blame and Rumination were observed to have significant variances between the Emotion-focused therapy group and the Meta-diagnostic, as well as the control group, during the post-test and follow-up phases (P<0.01. The study did not find any noteworthy distinction between the Meta-diagnostic therapy group and the control group (P>0.05). Conclusion: These findings suggest that therapists should consider tailoring interventions to the emotional needs of adolescents with BPD, with EFT potentially offering a more targeted approach. The results of this study offer valuable insights for clinicians working with adolescents with BPD, guiding future treatment choices for this challenging condition.