The additional effect of equine assistance in short term psychodynamic psychotherapy for patients with trauma-associated personality problems

Patients with maladaptive personality functioning often experience poorer outcomes
in psychotherapy. However, little is known about the role of personality
functioning in animal assisted psychotherapy. This study examines the role of personality
functioning in Equine assisted short-term Psychodynamic Psychotherapy
(ESTPP) for adults with intrapsychic and interpersonal problems (N=92), comparing
it to treatment-as-usual (TAU) (N = 107) using an exploratory non-randomized
pre- and post-treatment design. We assessed psychological dysfunction
and personality domains, including self-control, identity integration, responsibility,
relational capacities, and social concordance, while also exploring the impact
of therapeutic alliance on outcomes. Despite higher psychological dysfunction
scores in ESTPP participants, linear mixed models demonstrated significant improvement
in psychological dysfunction in both conditions. Higher levels of personality
domains were associated with lower psychological dysfunction in ESTPP,
except for self-control. However, higher baseline scores of self-control and identity
integration were linked to weaker improvement in psychological dysfunction
in both conditions, with ESTPP showing less improvement in identity integration.
The therapeutic alliance did not significantly influence the outcomes. While
ESTPP may benefit highly distressed patients, those with severe personality problems
might require additional support, particularly in self-control and identity integration.
This underscores the significance of exploring personality functioning
to enhance therapy outcomes. Further research and application of ESTPP is warranted.