Self-Hatred: The Unaddressed Symptom of Borderline Personality Disorder

Individuals with borderline personality disorder (BPD) often report chronic, severe self-hatred. It is frequently experienced as immutable, seen as a barrier to recovery, and is associated with risk for self-injury and suicide attempts. Yet self-hatred remains a poorly understood, underdiagnosed, and undertreated presentation of BPD. In this concept article and review, we describe the nature of self-hatred in BPD and related disorders, propose a theory as to the development of self-hatred in BPD, review the assessments of and interventions for self-hatred, and consider next steps in the research, assessment, and treatment of self-hatred in BPD. Through increased awareness, understanding, and measures of self-hatred in BPD, new treatment paradigms can be developed to ensure more comprehensive recovery.

Elucidating the relationships between shame, anger, and self-destructive behaviors: The role of aversive responses to emotions

Shame and anger are distinct yet interrelated emotions that have both been implicated in the occurrence of impulsive, self-destructive behavior (ISDB); however, the intricacies of these relations remain sparsely examined. Some research, mostly with anxiety and depression, suggests that an aversive reaction to the experience of negative emotions can result in efforts to escape or avoid such experiences. The current study sought to extend this model to the experience of shame. Consistently, we predicted that aversive reactions to shame would be associated with anger, which would be associated with ISDB. Four hundred and seventy-five undergraduate students completed a series of online questionnaires. Serial mediation was performed and r-square indicated that 35.55% of the variance in impulsive behavior was explained by this model. As predicted, shame had a significant indirect effect on anger through aversive reactions to emotions and on ISDB through aversive reactions to emotions and anger. Unexpectedly the reverse model, with an aversive reaction to anger predicting shame and ISDB, was also significant suggesting possible bidirectional relations between these constructs. This study is among the first to examine a possible mechanism by which shame can lead to ISDB, providing potential points of intervention for treatment.

A qualitative study of the feasibility and acceptability of a smoking cessation program for people living with HIV and emotional dysregulation

Despite high rates of co-occurring tobacco use and anxiety among persons living with HIV, evidence-based interventions for these individuals are limited. An existing cognitive-behavioral treatment protocol for smoking cessation and anxiety (Norton, P. J., & Barrera, T. L. (2012). Transdiagnostic versus diagnosis-specific CBT for anxiety disorders: A preliminary randomized controlled noninferiority trial. Depression and Anxiety, 29(10), 874-882. https://doi.org/10.1002/da.21974) was modified to address transdiagnostic constructs, such as anxiety sensitivity, distress tolerance, and depressive symptomatology (Labbe, A. K., Wilner, J. G., Kosiba, J. D., Gonzalez, A., Smits, J. A., Zvolensky, M. J., … O'Cleirigh, C. (2017). Demonstration of an Integrated Treatment for Smoking Cessation and Anxiety Symptoms in People with HIV: A Clinical Case Study. Cognitive and Behavioral Practice, 24(2), 200-214. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cbpra.2016.03.009). This study examines the feasibility and acceptability of the intervention as determined from qualitative data from structured exit interviews from 10 participants who completed treatment. Results demonstrated that participants were very motivated to quit smoking and enrolled in the program for health-related reasons and to be able to quit. Participants found nearly all the treatment components to be useful for reaching their smoking cessation goal and in managing emotional dysregulation. Last, all participants stated that they would strongly recommend the treatment program. This qualitative study provides initial evidence for the feasibility and acceptability of a modified smoking cessation treatment protocol for HIV+ individuals with anxiety and emotional dysregulation. Future research will focus on evaluating the efficacy of the protocol in a full-scale randomized controlled trial, as well as working to collect qualitative data from participants who discontinue treatment to better understand reasons for treatment attrition.

Quality of Life in Heterogeneous Anxiety Disorders: Changes Across Cognitive-Behavioral Treatments

Quality of life is lower among individuals with anxiety disorders; however, this construct is rarely a focus in treatment research. This study explores changes in quality of life in a randomized, controlled trial of several cognitive-behavioral treatments (CBTs) for anxiety disorders. Adults with heterogeneous anxiety disorders (N = 223) were randomly assigned to (a) unified protocol for transdiagnostic treatment of emotional disorders, (c) a single-disorder protocol targeting their principal diagnosis, or (c) a waitlist control condition, and assessed at baseline, posttreatment, and 6-month follow-up. At baseline, the sample evidenced deficits in quality of life, with no significant differences in quality of life across diagnoses or condition. Results suggest improved quality of life among participants in treatment, at similar rates across treatment condition and diagnostic category, and at levels significantly higher than the waitlist. Improvements were maintained through 6-month follow-up. This study supports CBT as effective in promoting quality of life.

Evaluating transdiagnostic, evidence-based mental health care in a safety-net setting serving homeless individuals

Homeless individuals experience higher rates of mental illness than the general population, though this group is less likely to receive evidence-based psychological treatment for these difficulties. One explanation for this science-to-service gap may be that most empirically supported interventions are designed to address a single disorder, which may not map on to the substantial comorbidity present in safety-net samples, and create a high training burden for often underresourced clinicians who must learn multiple protocols to address the needs of their patients. One solution may be to prioritize the dissemination of transdiagnostic interventions that can reduce therapist burden and simultaneously address comorbid conditions. The purpose of the present article is to describe the process of conducting a pilot study administering the Unified Protocol (UP), a transdiagnostic treatment for the range of emotional disorders, at a community-based organization that provides health care and other services to homeless individuals and families in Boston, Massachusetts. Therapists on a specialized behavioral health unit received didactic training in the intervention, followed by weekly consultation while they provided the UP to patients on their caseload. Qualitative and quantitative data were collected from both patients and therapists. Barriers to use of the UP by therapists, as well as to conducting research in this setting, will be discussed, along with the solutions that were used. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2019 APA, all rights reserved).

Integrated Treatment for Smoking Cessation, Anxiety, and Depressed Mood in People Living With HIV: A Randomized Controlled Trial

OBJECTIVE

Among people living with HIV, cigarette smoking rates are higher than among the general population, and anxiety, depression, and their disorders are common and associated with smoking and poorer outcomes during cessation. This study evaluated the efficacy of an integrated smoking cessation intervention, developed to target anxiety, depression, and smoking cessation concurrently among people living with HIV.

METHOD

Smokers living with HIV who reported at least moderate motivation to quit smoking were randomized into a novel 9-week integrated intervention (QUIT), consisting of 1 psychoeducation (prerandomization) session and 9 weekly 1-hour sessions of cognitive behavioral therapy for smoking cessation and anxiety/depression plus nicotine replacement therapy, or a 9-week enhanced standard smoking intervention (ETAU), consisting of 1 psychoeducation session (prerandomization) and 4 brief weekly check-in sessions plus nicotine replacement therapy. All were instructed to make a quit attempt at week 6.

RESULTS

Seventy-two participants were enrolled, and 53 were randomized. 41/53 participants completed the active treatment phase of the study. 7-day point-prevalence abstinence, verified with expired carbon monoxide, was significantly higher among those in the integrated intervention than those in the enhanced standard intervention both end-of-treatment {[MQUIT = 59%, METAU = 9%; b = 5.60, 95% confidence interval: (2.64 to 8.56), t(332) = 3.72, P < 0.001]} and 6-months post-quit date {[MQUIT = 46%, METAU = 5%; b = 7.69, 95% confidence interval: (4.60 to 10.78), t(332) = 4.90, P < 0.001]}. Consideration of patterns of missingness did not alter the significance of these findings.

CONCLUSIONS

The integrated intervention was associated with substantially higher short-term and long-term abstinence rates than the enhanced standard intervention. These data provide promising initial evidence supporting the benefits of an integrated anxiety-depression/smoking cessation program specifically tailored for people living with HIV.

A Preliminary Examination of the Effects of Transdiagnostic Versus Single Diagnosis Protocols on Anger During the Treatment of Anxiety Disorders

Dysregulated anger is often present in the emotional (i.e., anxiety, mood, and related) disorders; however, it is rarely targeted in treatment. Transdiagnostic treatments, which focus on processes that contribute to dysregulated emotions across the range of psychopathology, might represent an efficient way to treat this anger. Using a subset of data from a recently completed equivalency trial comparing the Unified Protocol for Transdiagnostic Treatment of Emotional Disorders (UP) to single diagnosis protocols (SDPs) for specific disorders, this study began exploring whether the UP led to great reductions in anger compared with the SDPs. Results indicated that there was a small, nonsignificant, decrease in anger in the UP condition, whereas there was a moderate, nonsignificant increase in anger in the SDP condition. At posttreatment, UP patients had significantly lower anger scores than patients who received an SDP. These preliminary results suggest that transdiagnostic treatments may be well poised to target dyregulated anger in the context of emotional disorders.

Addressing neuroticism in psychological treatment

Neuroticism has long been associated with psychopathology and there is increasing evidence that this trait represents a shared vulnerability responsible for the development and maintenance of a range of common mental disorders. Given that neuroticism may be more malleable than previously thought, targeting this trait in treatment, rather than its specific manifestations (e.g., anxiety, mood, and personality disorders), may represent a more efficient and cost-effective approach to psychological treatment. The goals of the current manuscript are to (a) review the role of neuroticism in the development of common mental disorders, (b) describe the evidence of its malleability, and (c) review interventions that have been explicitly developed to target this trait in treatment. Implications for shifting the focus of psychological treatment to underlying vulnerabilities, such as neuroticism, rather than on the manifest symptoms of mental health conditions, are also discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record

Behavioral activation strategies for major depression in transdiagnostic cognitive-behavioral therapy: An evidence-based case study

Behavioral activation (BA) is a treatment approach that uses functional analysis and context-dependent strategies to enhance environmental positive reinforcement for adaptive, healthy behavior, and decrease behavioral avoidance. BA has gained considerable support for the treatment of depression and can be broadly applied across a wide range of settings and clinical populations. In this article, we provide a brief description of BA as a therapeutic behavioral strategy for depression and present a clinical case example illustrating the integration of BA with other components of a transdiagnostic cognitive-behavioral treatment for emotional disorders. Implications for clinical practice and avenues for future research will be discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record

Transdiagnostic Treatment Personalization: The Feasibility of Ordering Unified Protocol Modules According to Patient Strengths and Weaknesses

Most patients in community practice attend significantly fewer sessions than are recommended by treatment protocols that have demonstrated efficacy in addressing emotional disorders. Personalized interventions that target the core processes thought to maintain a wide range of disorders may serve to increase treatment efficiency, addressing this gap. This study sought to evaluate the feasibility and acceptability of the personalized delivery of a mechanistically transdiagnostic intervention, the Unified Protocol (UP) for Transdiagnostic Treatment of Emotional Disorders. Using an AB phase change design in accordance with the single-case reporting guideline for behavioral interventions (SCRIBE), 18 individuals with heterogeneous emotional disorders were randomly assigned to receive UP treatment modules ordered according to either their pretreatment strengths or weaknesses. Results support the feasibility of reordering the treatment modules as the majority of patients presented with marked differences in skill levels, as well as the acceptability of this approach as patients in both conditions reported satisfaction with their assigned treatment order. Furthermore, the majority of patients demonstrated symptom improvement consistent with previously reported effects of the standard-order UP. Finally, there is preliminary evidence to suggest that those in the strengths condition displayed improvements in outcomes earlier in treatment than those in the weaknesses condition. Taken together, these findings offer preliminary support for improving treatment efficiency through the utilization of a personalized, strengths-based, transdiagnostic approach.

Baseline Substance Use Interferes with Maintenance of HIV Medication Adherence Skills

Cognitive behavioral therapy for adherence and depression (CBT-AD) in HIV improves both adherence and depression outcomes relative to enhanced treatment as usual (ETAU). However, in persons with injection drug use (PWIDU) histories, adherence gains seen during treatment have not been maintained postintervention. Therefore, we examined whether heroin or cocaine use at study entry moderated acquisition or maintenance of adherence gains after CBT-AD. HIV-positive adults in treatment for opioid dependence (n = 89) were randomly assigned to CBT-AD or ETAU and completed 3-, 6-, and 12-month assessments. Participants were majority male (61%), white (48%), and heterosexual (79%). Hierarchical linear modeling was used to evaluate whether heroin or cocaine use at baseline interacted with intervention assignment to predict change in adherence during active treatment and follow-up. CBT-AD-related improvement in adherence during the active intervention period did not vary by baseline substance use. However, cocaine use (but not heroin use) at baseline interacted with intervention assignment to predict a significant decline in follow-up adherence (cocaine use × group condition coefficient = -0.77, t = -2.44, p = 0.02) such that by 12 months, adherence among CBT participants was significantly lower among those who used cocaine (45.0%) compared to those who did not (72.3%; t = 2.50, p = 0.018). HIV-positive PWIDU who use heroin or cocaine at baseline can benefit from the CBT-AD intervention to improve adherence to antiretroviral therapy; therefore, providers should not withhold an active psychosocial treatment for HIV-positive PWIDU who are using. Cocaine use at baseline may limit the degree to which gains are maintained postintervention, and therefore, booster sessions may be needed.

Transdiagnostic Treatment of Borderline Personality Disorder and Comorbid Disorders: A Clinical Replication Series

Borderline personality disorder (BPD) is a severe, difficult-to-treat psychiatric condition that represents a large proportion of treatment-seeking individuals. BPD is characterized by high rates of co-occurrence with depressive and anxiety disorders, and recently articulated conceptualizations of this comorbidity suggest that these disorders may result from common temperamental vulnerabilities and functional maintenance factors. The Unified Protocol for the Transdiagnostic Treatment of Emotional Disorders (UP) was developed to address these shared features relevant across frequently co-occurring disorders. The purpose of the present study was to explore the preliminary efficacy of the UP for treatment of BPD with comorbid depressive and/or anxiety disorders in a clinical replication series consisting of five cases. For the majority of cases, the UP resulted in clinically significantly decreases in BPD, anxiety, and depressive symptoms, as well as increases in emotion regulation skills.

Complexity of childhood sexual abuse: predictors of current post-traumatic stress disorder, mood disorders, substance use, and sexual risk behavior among adult men who have sex with men

Men who have sex with men (MSM) are the group most at risk for HIV and represent the majority of new infections in the United States. Rates of childhood sexual abuse (CSA) among MSM have been estimated as high as 46 %. CSA is associated with increased risk of HIV and greater likelihood of HIV sexual risk behavior. The purpose of this study was to identify the relationships between CSA complexity indicators and mental health, substance use, sexually transmitted infections, and HIV sexual risk among MSM. MSM with CSA histories (n = 162) who were screened for an HIV prevention efficacy trial completed comprehensive psychosocial assessments. Five indicators of complex CSA experiences were created: CSA by family member, CSA with penetration, CSA with physical injury, CSA with intense fear, and first CSA in adolescence. Adjusted regression models were used to identify relationships between CSA complexity and outcomes. Participants reporting CSA by family member were at 2.6 odds of current alcohol use disorder (OR 2.64: CI 1.24-5.63), two times higher odds of substance use disorder (OR 2.1: CI 1.02-2.36), and 2.7 times higher odds of reporting an STI in the past year (OR 2.7: CI 1.04-7.1). CSA with penetration was associated with increased likelihood of current PTSD (OR 3.17: CI 1.56-6.43), recent HIV sexual risk behavior (OR 2.7: CI 1.16-6.36), and a greater number of casual sexual partners (p = 0.02). Both CSA with Physical Injury (OR 4.05: CI 1.9-8.7) and CSA with Intense Fear (OR 5.16: CI 2.5-10.7) were related to increased odds for current PTSD. First CSA in adolescence was related to increased odds of major depressive disorder. These findings suggest that CSA, with one or more complexities, creates patterns of vulnerabilities for MSM, including post-traumatic stress disorder, substance use, and sexual risk taking, and suggests the need for detailed assessment of CSA and the development of integrated HIV prevention programs that address mental health and substance use comorbidities.

Neuroticism prospectively predicts pain among adolescents: results from a nationally representative sample

OBJECTIVE

The purpose of this study is to assess the prospective relationship of neuroticism to frequency of headaches and stomachaches in adolescents.

METHODS

Participants were 3,676 adolescents sampled from Wave 1 (mean age 16) and Wave 2 (mean age 17) of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (i.e., Add Health), a comprehensive, nationally representative, longitudinal data set. Binary variables were created to isolate participants who reported high versus low/medium frequency of pain. Subsequently, Wave 2 pain variables were modeled based on Wave 1 neuroticism, controlling for Wave 1 pain and demographics.

RESULTS

Elevated neuroticism at Wave 1 prospectively predicted increased odds of high frequency of headaches (odds ratio=1.4, 95% CI [1.2, 1.8], p=.001) and stomachaches at Wave 2 (odds ratio=1.5, 95% CI [1.1, 2.0], p=.004).

CONCLUSIONS

This is the first known study to examine and find evidence for the prospective relationship between neuroticism and pain among a nationally representative sample of adolescents. Results indicated that after controlling for baseline pain, elevated neuroticism longitudinally predicted increased odds of high frequency of pain, one year later. Given recent advances in treatment for neuroticism, clinicians should be aware of these relationships and incorporate multidisciplinary treatments in the care of adolescents who experience high levels of pain.