Objective-Systems Training for Emotional Predictability and Problem Solving (STEPPS) is a 20-week manual-based group treatment program for outpatients with borderline personality disorder that combines cognitive behavioral elements and skills training with a systems component. The authors compared STEPPS plus treatment as usual with treatment as usual alone in a randomized controlled trial.Method-Subjects with borderline personality disorder were randomly assigned to STEPPS plus treatment as usual or treatment as usual alone. Total score on the Zanarini Rating Scale for Borderline Personality Disorder was the primary outcome measure. Secondary outcomes included measures of global functioning, depression, impulsivity, and social functioning; suicide attempts and self-harm acts; and crisis utilization. Subjects were followed 1 year posttreatment. A linear mixed-effects model was used in the analysis.Results-Data pertaining to 124 subjects (STEPPS plus treatment as usual [N=65]; treatment as usual alone [N=59]) were analyzed. Subjects assigned to STEPPS plus treatment as usual experienced greater improvement in the Zanarini Rating Scale for Borderline Personality Disorder total score and subscales assessing affective, cognitive, interpersonal, and impulsive domains. STEPPS plus treatment as usual also led to greater improvements in impulsivity, negative affectivity, mood, and global functioning. These differences yielded moderate to large effect sizes. There were no differences between groups for suicide attempts, self-harm acts, or hospitalizations. Most gains attributed to STEPPS were maintained during follow-up. Fewer STEPPS plus treatment as usual subjects had emergency department visits during treatment and follow-up. The discontinuation rate was high in both groups.Conclusions-STEPPS, an adjunctive group treatment, can deliver clinically meaningful improvements in borderline personality disorder-related symptoms and behaviors, enhance global functioning, and relieve depression.The treatment of patients with borderline personality disorder is challenging (1, 2). The use of medication has increased, but while several drugs have proven useful, their benefit has been modest (3-4). A range of psychotherapies has been developed and several have NIH Public Access NIH-PA Author ManuscriptNIH-PA Author Manuscript NIH-PA Author Manuscript garnered empirical support (5-12), including dialectical behavioral therapy (5-7, 12), mentalization-based therapy (8, 9), cognitive behavioral therapy (10), schema-focused therapy (11), and transference-focused therapy (12).In 1995, Blum et al. developed Systems Training for Emotional Predictability and Problem Solving (STEPPS) based on a program introduced by Bartels and Crotty (13). STEPPS is a group treatment that combines cognitive behavior elements and skills training with a systems component for individuals with whom a patient regularly interacts (14,15). STEPPS is easily learned and efficiently delivered by therapists of varying educational and professional backgroun...

A new self-rated scale to measure severity and change in persons with borderline personality disorder (BPD) is described. The Borderline Evaluation of Severity Over Time (BEST) was developed to rate the thoughts, emotions, and behaviors typical of BPD. Data were collected in the course of a randomized controlled trial (RCT) of Systems Training for Emotional Predictability and Problem Solving (STEPPS) for subjects with BPD. The instrument showed moderate test-retest reliability, high internal consistency, and high discriminant validity. Its 15 separate items showed a moderate or better correlation with the total score. The BEST was also sensitive to clinical change as early as week 4 of the RCT and correlated highly with other measures of illness severity. We conclude that the new scale is both reliable and valid in measuring severity and change in persons with BPD.

These findings hold important implications for clinician education and coordination of care for patients with BPD.

Objective Few predictors of treatment outcome or early discontinuation have been identified in persons with borderline personality disorder (BPD). Aim The aim of the study was to examine the relationship between baseline clinical variables and treatment response and early discontinuation in a randomized controlled trial of System Training for Emotional Predictability and Problem Solving, a new cognitive group treatment. Method Improvement was rated using the Zanarini Rating Scale for BPD, the Clinical Global Impression Scale, the Global Assessment Scale and the Beck Depression Inventory. Subjects were assessed during the 20 week trial and a 1-year follow-up. Results Higher baseline severity was associated with greater improvement in global functioning and BPD-related symptoms. Higher impulsivity was predictive of early discontinuation. Optimal improvement was associated with attending ≥15 sessions. Conclusion Subjects likely to improve have the more severe BPD symptoms at baseline, while high levels of impulsivity are associated with early discontinuation

We examined the neuropsychological performance of people with compulsive buying disorder (CBD) and control subjects, along with trait impulsivity, symptoms of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and selected personality characteristics. Subjects received a comprehensive neuropsychological test battery, depression and ADHD symptom assessment, the Barratt Impulsiveness Scale, and a version of the Temperament and Character Inventory. Persons with CBD (n=26) and controls (n=32) were comparable in terms of age, sex, and years of education. Subjects with CBD had a mean age of 36.3 years (S.D.=15.7) and an age at onset of 19.7 years (S.D.=7.0). Compulsive buyers had more lifetime mood, anxiety, and impulse control disorders. People with Compulsive buying performed significantly better on the Wechsler Abbreviated Scale of Intelligence Picture Completion task, a test of visual perception; otherwise, there were no consistent differences in neuropsychological measures. They also had elevated levels of self-reported depression, ADHD symptoms, trait impulsivity, and novelty seeking. In conclusion, compulsive buyers have greater lifetime psychiatric comorbidity than controls, and higher levels of self-rated depression, ADHD symptoms, trait impulsivity, and novelty seeking. The present study does not support the notion that there is a pattern of neuropsychological deficits associated with CBD.