For my journal article of choice, I decided to pick this based on the presentation of my third H&P. This was a randomized clinical trial that was focused on the time frame of receiving dialectical behavior therapy for borderline personality disorder (6 months vs 12 months). Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) is an outpatient treatment combining acceptance-based approaches with cognitive behavioral interventions. In this article, DBT was further described as typically involving weekly individual therapy, group skills training, and 24/7 telephone coaching. The main idea that was being tested by this RCT included the “FASTER study” which compared the effectiveness of 6 months (DBT-6) versus 12 months (DBT-12) of DBT for individuals with BPD who exhibit chronic suicidal or self-harming behaviors. This RCT included 240 participants and assessed outcomes over 24 months, focusing primarily on the
frequency of self-harm episodes.

The results demonstrated that DBT-6 was non inferior to DBT-12, with both groups showing significant improvements from baseline to month 24. DBT-6 led to a more rapid reduction in BPD symptoms, proving to be safe and effective with comparable retention rates to DBT-12. The authors findings suggest that shorter-term DBT is most likely sufficient for many patients and thus potentially increasing treatment accessibility for those with BPD. While not all secondary outcomes established noninferiority for DBT-6, there was no clear advantage of DBT-12 over DBT-6. This of course needs to be followed up with more rigorous studies with systematic reviews or meta-analysis that provide high quality evidence.