Structured Interview of Personality Organization (STIPO) – Czech Version Validation Study as an Optional Approach to Research Testing of the “Katathym Imaginative Psychotherapie” (KIP) Effectiveness

The Alternative Model for Personality Disorders (AMPD) is the key contribution to the classification of Personality Disorders (PD) in the current DSM-5 proposal. The shift from the assessment of PD symptomatic criteria to the assessment of the dimensional basis of personality psychopathology reflects considerably in planning of the therapeutic procedures and evaluation of the treatment effectiveness. Structured Interview of Personality Organization (STIPO) offers a psychodynamic tool to assess personality organization, that is the level of personality functioning, according to the Kernberg’s model of personality psychopathology. STIPO comprises seven dimensions: (1) Identity; (2) Quality of Object Relations; (3) Primitive Defenses; (4) Coping/Rigidity; (5) Aggression; (6) Moral Values; (7) Reality Testing and Perceptual Distortions. These dimensions help assess the level of the subject’s adaptive functioning, as well as the extent to which everyday functioning is conditioned by early maladaptive patterns. This article focuses on the importance of the structural diagnostics from the perspective of “Katathym-Imaginative Psychotherapie” (KIP). We describe the origins of the STIPO method and, in a case study, we demonstrate its clinical significance for making decisions about applicability of imaginative techniques in treatment of PD clients. Finally, we mention the importance of the validation study of the Czech STIPO version, which appears to be a useful tool of research testing of KIP effectiveness.