National Institute for Clinical Excellence recommended the use of medication only in times of crisis for individuals with borderline personality disorder (BPD). Despite this recommendation most service users referred to a specialist personality disorder service were found to be on numerous medications. Although a number of qualitative studies have explored the experience of individuals with a diagnosis of BPD they have failed to discuss their experience of being treated with medication, despite its high prescription with this group (e.g. Sansone et al.). The aim of this study was to explore the experience of service users being treated with medication for the BPD diagnosis. Semi-structured interviews were carried out with seven service users under a specialist service for personality disorder. Interviews were transcribed and analysed using thematic analysis. The main themes to emerge were: staff knowledge and attitudes, lack of resources for BPD and the recovery pathway for BPD. Overall, service users felt that receiving the BPD diagnosis had had a negative impact on the care they received, with staff either refusing treatment or focusing on medication as a treatment option. The introduction of specialist services for this group appears to improve service user satisfaction with their treatment and adherence to the National Institute for Clinical Excellence guidelines.

This audit was undertaken to monitor adherence to the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE, 2009) guidelines on borderline personality disorder (BPD) within an NHS Trust.

The core business of clinical psychology relies on the thoughtful application of psychological principles and methods. This highly developed capacity is readily generalised across settings, but this can make it difficult for others to comprehend its nature clearly. The authors reflect on some of the puzzling issues arising from this dialectic, particularly with reference to the current interest in the application of cognitive behaviour therapy.

Individuals with a personality disorder are well known to mental health professionals for being difficult to work with (Markham, 2003). A specialist personality disorder service set up general awareness training events for staff to improve their understanding on personality disorder.