A psychoeducational group intervention for family and friends of youth with borderline personality disorder features: protocol for a randomised controlled trial

Abstract

BackgroundCaring for a person with borderline personality disorder is associated with poor outcomes including elevated psychological distress and burden. This study will compare the effectiveness of two brief psychoeducational programs for carers of youth presenting for early intervention for borderline personality disorder features. The protocol for this study is presented here.MethodsThe study is a single-centre parallel group, randomised controlled trial. As a family unit, relatives, partners and friends (‘carers’) are randomly allocated to one of two treatment arms to receive either an online borderline personality disorder psychoeducation program, or both the online psychoeducation group and a face-to-face group program, Making Sense of Borderline Personality Disorder. Carers are assessed at baseline and follow-up (4 weeks after the intervention). It is expected that participants who received the combined group and online programs will have better outcomes than those who received the online program alone. The primary outcome is carer burden, assessed using the negative appraisal subscales of the Experience of Caregiving Inventory. Secondary outcomes include positive experiences of caregiving, coping, self-rated personality disorder knowledge, psychological distress, expressed emotion and quality of life.DiscussionThis will be the first published evaluation of a psychoeducational intervention for carers of youth with borderline personality disorder features using a randomised controlled trial design. The results have the potential to inform clinicians and carers about the effectiveness of brief interventions designed to support families and friends of young people with borderline personality disorder, and what medium those interventions should utilise.Trial registrationProspectively registered with the Australian New Zealand Clinical Trial Registry ACTRN12616000304437 on 08 March 2016.

A study comparing the experiences of family and friends of young people with borderline personality disorder features with family and friends of young people with other serious illnesses and general population adults

“…They found that carers reported reduced subjective, but not objective, burden and increased personality disorder knowledge at the completion of a three session cognitive analytic therapy-informed program called 'Making Sense of BPD'. The findings have led to a randomised controlled trial evaluation of the program [38]. Future studies are needed to examine the effects of increasing adaptive coping skills on carer and patient outcomes.…”

“…Data for both BPD groups were collected at baseline, as part of a randomised controlled trial evaluating psychoeducation interventions for carers of yp-BPD [ 38 ]. Consecutive sampling was employed to reduce sampling bias [ 39 ].…”

“…Comparison Group Characteristics and Scores on Measures Borderline Personality Disorder and Emotion Dysregulation (2020) 7:17 psychoeducation interventions for carers of yp-BPD[38]. Consecutive sampling was employed to reduce sampling bias[39].…”

A pilot trial of moderated online social therapy for family and friends of young people with borderline personality disorder features

“…Early intervention for young people with BPD, including support for carers, is designed to prevent or reduce the severity of long‐term problems with social functioning (Chanen et al, 2017). Members of our group have developed and evaluated the only intervention programs specifically for carers of young people with BPD features: the face‐to‐face MS‐BPD psychoeducation group program (Pearce et al, 2017) and two Online modules, Introduction to Early Intervention for Borderline Personality Disorder and Caring For a Young Person with Borderline Personality Disorder ‐ Information for Families and Friends (Betts et al, 2018).…”

The Lived Experiences of Family Members of a Sibling with Borderline Personality Disorder in South Africa: A Qualitative Study

“…Families and friends of an individual with BPD experience high levels of psychological symptoms, including anxiety and depression, objective and subjective burdens, and grief. [19] Moreover, family members experience negative feelings, despair, sadness and regret, humiliation, guilt, and shame towards their relatives diagnosed with BPD. [8] Family roles and relationships become strained due to the emotional challenges of having a sibling with BPD.…”