Evaluation of a group training for adolescents (Emotion Regulation Training) with emotion regulation problems.

Emotional dysregulation is the main symptom of borderline personality disorder (BPD). BPD is an invalidating disorder with much impact on the patient's functioning. Self-injury and suicide attempts frequently occur.
These patients pose an enormous demand on public health care, with frequent interventions and many crises. BPD is rarely diagnosed before the age of 18.
Nevertheless, symptoms of BPD are often seen at a younger age and lead to significant distress in the adolescent and his or her family.
Treatment at an early stage may prevent the development of a full-blown personality disorder in adulthood as well as the negative consequences related to BPD.
Although there are different ways of treating adults with BPD, no effective treatment program for adolescents is available in the Netherlands.
At the outpatient clinic of Accare we developed a course for adolescents that was based on a course for adults (developed by Bartels, Crottie and Blum). Adolescents learn to handle emotional dysregulation.

This study is a pilot study in the North of the Netherlands.

48 Adolescents will be included and randomised into two conditions, namely: 1. 17-week course + care as usual or 2. waitlist with care as usual. Assessments take place before and after the course and at a half year follow-up.

Adolescents with emotion regulation problems who followed the Emotion Regulation Training will show improvement on the following items:

1. Symptoms of emotional dysregulation;

2. Positive and negative coping behaviour;

3. Stress symptoms in the adolescent;

4. Stress symptoms in the parents (or care-takers);

5. Consumption of public health services
compared to a waitlist control group.

N/A

The Emotion Regulation Training (ERT) is a skills-training (17 weekly sessions of 1,75 hours as weel as one session for significant others) based on psycho-education, cognitive behavioural principles, and excercises for relaxation.

Care as usual generally includes individual sessions with the adolescent and medication checks, sometimes combined with family sessions, crisis intervention or parent training.