Personality functioning and psychotherapy outcome (original) (raw)
Personality dysfunction is manifested in interpersonal interactions and self-concept. It generates vulnerability to psychopathology and increases the risk of recurring symptoms and impaired work ability. Change in personality functioning is considered a major goal of psychotherapy, but published studies comparing different psychotherapeutic treatments on the subject are scarce. Likewise, the suitability of short-term and long-term therapy has been suggested to be partly determined by the patient's personality functioning but only limited research evidence on the issue is available. Accordingly, assessment of these personality factors with reliable and valid instruments and knowledge on their prediction on outcome are needed for selecting the most optimal treatment for patients. The aims of this study were to study the effectiveness of short-term and longterm psychotherapy on personality functioning for patients with anxiety or mood disorder, and to study the respective prediction of personality functioning on outcomes, during a 3-year follow-up. The subjects consisted of 326 outpatients with anxiety or mood disorder, randomized to short-term or long-term psychotherapy in the Helsinki Psychotherapy Study (HPS). Altogether 97 patients were randomly assigned to solution-focused therapy (SFT), 101 patients to short-term psychodynamic psychotherapy (SPP) and 128 patients to long-term psychodynamic psychotherapy (LPP). The patients' psychological status was monitored by questionnaires and interviews before randomization and at 3, 7, 9, 12, 18, 24 and 36 months after the baseline during the 3-year follow-up.
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