The Journal of

The Effectiveness of Intensive Short-Term Dynamic Psychotherapy on Difficulty in Emotion Regulation in Patients with Borderline Personality Disorder
Pegah Khoramnia (Ph.D.)1, Saeed Moshtaghi (Ph.D.)2, Homayoon HaroonRashidi (Ph.D.)3
1.Ph.D. Student of Psychology, Department of Psychology, Dez. C., Islamic Azad University, Dezful, Iran
2.Corresponding author: Associate Professor, Department of Psychology, Dez. C., Islamic Azad University, Dezful, Iran     Email: moshtaghisaeed@iau.ac.ir    Tel: 09036871600
3.Associate Professor, Department of Psychology, Dez. C., Islamic Azad University, Dezful, Iran

Abstract
Introduction: Borderline personality disorder is one of the most common disorders in psychiatry. The present study aimed to investigate the effectiveness of intensive short-term dynamic psychotherapy on components of difficulty in emotion regulation in patients with borderline personality disorder.
Methods: The research method was a quasi-experimental type with a pre-test-post-test design and a control group with a two-month follow-up period. The statistical population included all people with borderline personality disorder at the "Mehr Iran" clinic in Tehran during the winter 2025. Of these, 30 people (15 in the experimental group and 15 in the control group) were selected by convenience sampling. The data collection tool was the Gratz & Roeme (2004) Difficulty in Emotion Regulation Questionnaire. The educational intervention was conducted on the experimental group during 11 sessions, two 60-minute sessions per week. The data were analyzed using SPSS version 26 software using repeated-measures analysis of variance and Bonferroni post hoc test.
Results: The mean and standard deviation of the score of difficulty in regulating emotion in the experimental group in the pre-test was 120.70±9.593 and the post-test was 97.50±7.731, which was significantly different (P<0,01). The intervention had a significant effect on reducing emotion regulation difficulties in patients with borderline personality disorder (P<0,01, F=17,34, η=0,63), and these effects were sustained at the follow-up stage (P<0,01).
Conclusion:Given that intensive short-term dynamic psychotherapy was effective in improving the difficulty in regulating emotions in patients with borderline personality disorder, this method should be considered by therapists and health professionals as an effective method.