Effectiveness of psychosocial treatments on suicidality in personality disorders.

OBJECTIVE

Axis II disorders, particularly borderline personality disorder, are highly associated with suicidal behaviours. This paper aims to evaluate treatment of suicidality in borderline personality disorder.

METHOD

Systematic review of the empirical literature on the clinical effectiveness of psychosocial treatments in reducing suicidal behaviours in patients with personality disorders. A summary of empirical findings is presented, and recommendations for clinical practice are offered.

RESULTS

While there is currently a dearth of well-controlled treatment trials, interest in this field of research is growing, and several recent randomized controlled trials support the effectiveness of certain interventions.

CONCLUSION

Several different types of psychosocial interventions are associated with reductions in suicidal behaviour.