Self-Contempt, the Working Alliance and Outcome in Treatments for Borderline Personality Disorder: An Exploratory Study.

Objective. We examined the role of expressed self-contempt in therapy for borderline personality disorder (BPD). Based on previous literature on BPD, we assumed an association between the self-contempt and the core symptoms of BPD. We also studied the progression of expressed self-contempt during the treatment and its effect on the alliance and the outcomes of treatment.Method. We rated the expressed self-contempt in 148 tape-recorded sessions with patients with BPD (N = 50), during a brief psychiatric treatment. We rated self-contempt at three time-points, using an observer-rate scale. Self-reported questionnaires were used to assess symptoms and the working alliance.Results. There are some associations between self-contempt and BPD symptoms. Expressed self-contempt did not change during the treatment. One measure of self-contempt was associated with a weaker alliance rated by the patients and with a stronger alliance rated by the therapists. The expression of high self-contempt was not predictive of outcomes when the initial level of problems was controlled for.Conclusions. The results highlight the importance to examine the complex effects of self-contempt in BPD undergoing treatment in a differentiated manner and suggest to clinicians and researchers to be attentive to this specific emotional state, and change therein, in psychotherapy.Keywords: Self-contempt; Borderline Personality Disorder; Brief Treatment; Therapeutic Alliance; EmotionTrial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT01896024.

Organization of nanoparticles on hard substrates using block copolymer films as templates.

We present a technique for the organization of pre-synthesized nanoparticles on hard substrates, using block copolymer films as sacrificial templates. A thin block copolymer film is dip-coated on the substrate of interest and the sample is exposed to a solution containing nanoparticles. Spontaneous preferential adsorption of the nanoparticles on one phase of the block copolymer film results in their lateral organization. An oxygen plasma etch is used to remove the polymer film; the nanoparticles end up organized on the substrate. We demonstrate that this is a general approach for the patterning of inorganic nanoparticles on hard substrates, showing the organization of metal and semiconductor nanoparticles having different chemistries at the particle/solvent and solvent/polymer interfaces. The nanoparticle patterns that we present have typical periodicities in the nanometer scale. In some cases, microcontact printing is used to create a double length scale of organization, on the micrometer and on the nanometer level. The characteristic periodicity of the template is studied with respect to the nanoparticle size in order to optimize the organization. Finally, we describe how to extend this technique for the production of continuous gold nanowires on hard substrates. We expect that the flexibility of this approach and the degree of control that can be obtained over nanoparticle organization should make it a powerful tool for nanoscale fabrication.