Personality Disorders as a Possible Moderator of the Effects of Relational Interventions in Short-Term Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy with Depressed Adolescents

A significant proportion of adolescents suffering from major depressive disorder (MDD) are likely to have a co-morbid personality disorder (PD). Short-term psychoanalytic psychotherapy (STPP) was found to be one treatment of choice for adolescents suffering from MDD. Background: The first experimental study of transference work-in teenagers (FEST-IT) demonstrated the efficaciousness of transference work in STPP with adolescents suffering from MDD. The usefulness of STPP may be enhanced by exploring possible moderators. Methods: Depressed adolescents (N = 69), aged 16–18 years, were diagnosed with the structured interview for DSM-IV PDs and randomized to 28 weeks of STPP with or without transference work. A mixed linear model was applied. The moderator effect was investigated by a three-way interaction including “time”, “treatment group” and “number of PD criteria”. Results: A small but significant moderator effect was found for cluster B personality pathology. Patients with a higher number of cluster B PD criteria at baseline did better up to one-year post-treatment where therapists encouraged patients to explore the patient–therapist relationship in the here and now. Conclusion: When treated with psychoanalytic psychotherapy for MDD, adolescents with cluster B PD symptoms seem to profit more from transference work than adolescents without such pathology.