Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41154203›Full record

ArticleBrain sciences2025

Integration of Gestalt Therapy with Evidence-Based Interventions for Borderline Personality Disorder-Theoretical Framework and Clinical Model.

Enrico Moretto, Roberta Stanzione, Chiara Scognamiglio, Valeria Cioffi, Lucia Luciana Mosca, Francesco Marino, Ottavio Ragozzino, Enrica Tortora, Raffaele Sperandeo

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Article in Brain sciences, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

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4 · The record

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5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

9 authors.

Enrico MorettoSiPGI-Postgraduate School of Integrated Gestalt Psychotherapy, 80058 Torre Annunziata, Italy.ORCID 0000-0002-1726-7866
Roberta StanzioneSiPGI-Postgraduate School of Integrated Gestalt Psychotherapy, 80058 Torre Annunziata, Italy.
Chiara ScognamiglioSiPGI-Postgraduate School of Integrated Gestalt Psychotherapy, 80058 Torre Annunziata, Italy.
Valeria CioffiSiPGI-Postgraduate School of Integrated Gestalt Psychotherapy, 80058 Torre Annunziata, Italy.
Lucia Luciana MoscaSiPGI-Postgraduate School of Integrated Gestalt Psychotherapy, 80058 Torre Annunziata, Italy.ORCID 0000-0001-9090-094X
Francesco MarinoSiPGI-Postgraduate School of Integrated Gestalt Psychotherapy, 80058 Torre Annunziata, Italy.
Ottavio RagozzinoSiPGI-Postgraduate School of Integrated Gestalt Psychotherapy, 80058 Torre Annunziata, Italy.
Enrica TortoraSiPGI-Postgraduate School of Integrated Gestalt Psychotherapy, 80058 Torre Annunziata, Italy.ORCID 0009-0007-0156-8692
Raffaele SperandeoDepartment of Neurosciences Reproductive and Odontostomatologic Sciences, University of Naples "Federico II", 80131 Naples, Italy.ORCID 0000-0002-8892-179X

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

BACKGROUND/

objectivesGestalt therapy traditionally opposes categorical diagnostic labelling due to its fundamental inconsistency with phenomenological and process-oriented ontology. However, this epistemological rigour can limit integration with structured evidence-based interventions for complex personality organizations such as Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD). Despite the evidence base for DBT and Schema Therapy in treating BPD, these approaches may inadvertently minimize the lived phenomenological experience and organismic wisdom central to recovery. Meanwhile, Gestalt therapy's anti-diagnostic stance limits its integration with structured evidence-based protocols. This paper proposes a hybrid theoretical model that addresses this gap by integrating the clinical epistemology of Gestalt therapy with Linehan's biosocial theory of Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT) and schema-focused interventions, while preserving the core principles of Gestalt.

methodswe present a model of theoretical integration that draws on Gestalt contact theory, the four modules of DBT (mindfulness, distress tolerance, emotional regulation, interpersonal effectiveness) and the experiential techniques of Schema Therapy. The integration focuses on the dialectic of acceptance and change, which mirrors Gestalt's paradoxical theory of change. The proposed framework preserves the non-protocol dimension of Gestalt therapy while incorporating the pragmatic utility of DBT and Schema Therapy.

resultskey conceptual contributions we propose include: (1) theorizing the "Draft Self" as the object and subject of therapeutic work, (2) integrating mindfulness and grounding as embodied processes within live Gestalt experiments, (3) activation techniques to explore the identity fragmentation endemic to BPD.

conclusionshis integration offers a coherent, embodied, and process-oriented framework for understanding and treating BPD that validates patients' lived experience, mobilizes evidence-based interventions, and opens up meaningful intertheoretical dialogue.

Indexed as

borderline personality disorderDBTgestalt therapyphenomenologyschema therapytherapeutic integration

Identifiers

PMID41154203
PMCPMC12562780

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