The effectiveness of intensive short-term dynamic psychotherapy on difficulties in emotion regulation in non-suicidal self-injurious people

Objectives: Research evidence suggests that emotion regulation is impaired in individuals with non-suicidal self-injurious. the aim of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of intensive short-term dynamic psychotherapy on emotion regulation in non-suicidal self-injurious people. Method: The study design was a single-case multiple-baselines. five (two male and tree females) were selected by available sampling based on Structured Clinical Interview Diagnostic Tools (SCID-II) and Millon Personality Inventory (MCMI-III) from counseling centers in Alborz province, Iran. The participants received 20 sessions of the intensive short-term dynamic psychotherapy individually. The participants were assessed at six stages (before therapy, after 4, 8, 12, 16, 20 sessions and 2 months follow-up) by the Difficalties in Emotion Regulation Scale (DRES) and Inventory of Statements About Self-injury (ISAS). Results: Data were analyzed using the indices for trend changes, slope and the visual inspection of the charts. The Cohenchr('39')s d, recovery percent index and effect size were used to determine the clinical significance. The results of the data analysis showed that intensive short-term dynamic psychotherapy is effective in enhancing the emotion regulation and reducing self-injurious behaviors of people with non-suicidal self-injurious. Conclusion: According to the results of this study, it can be said that intensive short-term dynamic psychotherapy is a good option to increase emotion regulation and reduce self-injurious behaviors in individuals with non-suicidal self-injurious behaviors.