Evidence map›Paper›PMID 42897533›Full record

ArticleBMC psychiatry2026

Protocol for a parallel-group superiority randomized controlled trial comparing Sage- a couple psychotherapy- to supportive individual psychotherapy for borderline personality disorder.

Skye Fitzpatrick, Vinushini Arunagiri, Jenna M Traynor, Beverley K Fredborg, Alexander R Daros, Alexander O Crenshaw, Danielle Fitzpatrick, Shelley F McMain, Candice M Monson, Lynn Courey and 1 more

Registry-linked trialAbstract readClinical Trial Protocol
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in BMC psychiatry, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT06458933 (A Randomized Controlled Trial Testing Sage), which is not on this map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
0citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

NCT06458933 phase2recruitingnot on this map

A Randomized Controlled Trial Testing Sage: A Couple Intervention for Borderline Personality Disorder

TypeinterventionalSponsorYork UniversityRan2025 to 2030Enrolled304ConditionsBorderline Personality DisorderArmsSage, Supportive Individual Psychotherapy
3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

11 authors.

Skye FitzpatrickDepartment of Psychology, York University, 4700 Keele St., Toronto, ON, M3J 1P3, Canada. skyefitz@yorku.ca.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1347-1827
Vinushini ArunagiriDepartment of Psychology, York University, 4700 Keele St., Toronto, ON, M3J 1P3, Canada.
Jenna M TraynorDivision of Women's Mental Health, McLean Hospital, 115 Mill St, Belmont, MA, 02478, USA.
Beverley K FredborgDepartment of Psychology, University of Winnipeg, 515 Portage Avenue, Winnipeg, MB, R3B 2E9, Canada.
Alexander R DarosDepartment of Psychology, University of Windsor, 401 Sunset Drive, Windsor, ON, N9B 3P4, Canada.
Alexander O CrenshawDepartment of Psychological Science, Kennesaw State University, 1000 Chastain Road, Kennesaw, GA, 30144, USA.
Danielle FitzpatrickDepartment of Psychology, York University, 4700 Keele St., Toronto, ON, M3J 1P3, Canada.
Shelley F McMainBorderline Personality Disorder Clinic, Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, 1001 Queen St W, Toronto, ON, M6J 1H4, Canada.
Candice M MonsonDepartment of Psychology Toronto Metropolitan University, 350 Victoria Street, Toronto, ON, M5B 2K3, Canada.
Lynn CoureyThe Sashbear Foundation, 25 Hartfield Rd, Toronto, ON, M9A 3C8, Canada.
Rachel E LiebmanDepartment of Psychiatry, University of Toronto, 250 College Street, Toronto, Ontario, M5T 1R8, Canada.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundAlthough borderline personality disorder (BPD) is associated with substantial mortality and morbidity, frontline BPD interventions are difficult to access and have suboptimal efficacy. Therefore, there is a pressing need to develop and test brief, optimized BPD interventions. BPD is associated with disrupted intimate relationships, and recent theoretical models suggest that such disruptions may play a central role in driving BPD pathology. This led to the development of Sage, a protocolized, conjoint psychotherapeutic intervention delivered to people with BPD and their intimate partners to treat BPD and simultaneously improve relationship conflict and intimate partner's mental health. While preliminary research supports the efficacy of Sage, a key next step is identifying whether Sage is more efficacious compared to standard care in improving its targets. This manuscript outlines the study protocol for a single-blind, parallel two-arm randomized controlled trial (RCT) comparing Sage to a supportive psychotherapy that is delivered separately to people with BPD and their intimate partners.

methodsCouples wherein one member has BPD (target N = 152 couples) are actively being recruited. After eligibility and baseline assessments are complete, couples are randomized to Sage or Supportive Individual Psychotherapy. Weekly supervision meetings are held for both conditions by independent supervisors to ensure intervention adherence and prevent drift. Primary (BPD symptoms), secondary (relationship conflict, partner mental health), and exploratory outcomes (e.g. people with BPD's emotion dysregulation, suicidal ideation, suicidal and self-injurious behaviors, relationship satisfaction) are assessed by masked assessors at baseline, mid-intervention, post-intervention, and at a one-, three, and six-month follow-up. Generalized mixed linear models using an intent-to-treat philosophy will be conducted to examine differences between study outcomes across conditions. DISCUSSION: Results will illuminate whether Sage is an efficacious means of treating BPD and expanding intervention outcomes to include relationship conflict and partner mental health in a short timeframe.

trial registrationClinicalTrials.gov (ID NCT06458933, registered on June 12, 2024).

Indexed as

Borderline Personality DisorderCouples TherapyAdultEquivalence Trials as TopicFemaleHumansInterpersonal RelationsMaleRandomized Controlled Trials as TopicSingle-Blind MethodBehavioral psychotherapyBorderline personality disorderCouple psychotherapyEmotion dysregulationHumanistic psychotherapyRandomised controlled trial

Identifiers

PMID42897533
PMCPMC13678913

What OpenQuestion holds

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Registered trials

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.