The effectiveness of mentalization-based therapy on improving object relations of people with borderline personality disorder

Object relations are key concepts in the psychoanalytic approach that are important in the etiology of borderline personality disorder. Therefore, the present study was conducted with the aim of evaluating the effectiveness of mentalization based therapy (MBT) on object relations of persons with borderline personality disorder (BPD). This research was an experimentaland a pretest-posttest design with the control group was used. The sample consisted of 30 men with BPD who were selected by convenience sampling from the population and were assigned using random sampling into two an experimental and a control group. The experimental group received 20 sessions of MBT, but the control group did not receive a treatment. The data collection instruments included structured clinical interviews for the diagnosis of axis II disorders, M0+illon clinical multiracial inventory and Bell Object Relations Scale. Pretest and posttest were administered to both groups. Data were analyzed by univariate covariance analysis by SPSS software, Ver. 23. The results showed that after controlling for the pretest effects, there was a significant difference between the mean of posttest scores of both groups in both object relations variables (p < 0.05). In other words, MBT sessions improved object relationships (F = 4.838) in persons with BPD in the treatment group. Therefore, MBT is a suitable strategy for improving the object relationships of persons with BPD and can be used as an effective intervention method.