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A controlled trial of personal construct psychotherapy for deliberate self‐harm
Author(s) -
Winter David,
Sireling Lester,
Riley Tony,
Metcalfe Christopher,
Quaite Ash,
Bhandari Suchitra
Publication year - 2007
Publication title -
psychology and psychotherapy: theory, research and practice
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.102
H-Index - 62
eISSN - 2044-8341
pISSN - 1476-0835
DOI - 10.1348/147608306x102778
Subject(s) - construct (python library) , psychology , intervention (counseling) , suicidal ideation , harm , psychotherapist , clinical psychology , randomized controlled trial , psychiatry , medicine , suicide prevention , poison control , social psychology , medical emergency , surgery , computer science , programming language
Evidence for the effectiveness of psychological therapies for people who self‐harm is limited. Personal construct theory provides a model of self‐harm and a framework for therapeutic intervention, which was evaluated in the present study. Sixty‐four adults presenting to Accident and Emergency departments following self‐harm were allocated to a personal construct psychotherapy or a ‘normal clinical practice’ condition. They completed various measures at assessment points pre‐ and post‐therapy. Repetition of self‐harm was assessed over a 3‐year period. Participants in the intervention condition showed significantly greater reduction in suicidal ideation, hopelessness and depression post‐treatment than the control group; and significantly more reconstruing at this point and 6‐month follow‐up. There was some evidence suggestive of a lower frequency of repetition of self‐harm in the intervention than in the control group. It is concluded that brief personal construct psychotherapy may be effective for people who self‐harm and merits further exploration.