“It’s Us That Have to Deal with it Seven Days a Week”: Carers and Borderline Personality Disorder

Abstract

Carers provide unpaid support to family or friends with physical or mental health problems. This support may be within the domain of activities of daily living, such as personal care, or providing additional emotional support. While research has explored the carer experience within the National Health Service in the United Kingdom, it has not focused specifically on carers of individuals with a diagnosis of borderline personality disorder (BPD). Eight carers for those with a diagnosis of BPD were invited to take part in two focus groups. The first carers' focus group, entitled 'The role of Mental Health services,' produced four super-ordinate themes. The second carers' focus, entitled 'Experiences in the Community,' produced six super-ordinate themes. It seems carers of those with a diagnosis of BPD are continuing to be overlooked by mental health services, and subsequently require more support to ensure their own well-being.

Qualitative Analysis of Resources and Barriers Related to Treatment of Borderline Personality Disorder in the United States

“…BPDRC callers frequently expressed unfamiliarity with both the disorder and available family resources. Likewise, consistent with prior studies (6, 31), family members reported dissatisfaction with their involvement in treatment and communication with providers. Further clinical and systematic efforts are needed to improve family member understanding of BPD, to build awareness of available supportive services, and to encourage integration of families into therapy.…”

“…BPD may have a profoundly negative impact on the psychosocial and occupational functioning of those afflicted (2, 4) and may severely burden family members and health systems (5, 6). Despite the substantial public health impact, empirically-supported therapies for BPD are not widely available in publicly-funded treatment settings, and recovery is unlikely with mental health services typically focused on short-term intervention or case-management (7).…”

“…For instance, Strike and colleagues explored the circumstances of health service use among suicidal men with BPD and found that prior negative experiences with healthcare providers frequently contributed to avoidance of healthcare settings and “fragmented pathways” to care (9). Other research has examined perceived lack of supportive services for caregivers and family members (6). Dunne and Rogers (2013) interviewed caregivers for those with BPD and found both dissatisfaction with their involvement in care planning and uncertainty about what supportive services were available (6).…”

“…Other research has examined perceived lack of supportive services for caregivers and family members (6). Dunne and Rogers (2013) interviewed caregivers for those with BPD and found both dissatisfaction with their involvement in care planning and uncertainty about what supportive services were available (6). …”

Design of an international multicentre RCT on group schema therapy for borderline personality disorder

“…Families and friends may face the challenging task of providing informal care [8,9], whereas society bears the costs of a more intensive use of health services [6,10-13], productivity losses [10,13], and other inter-sectorial costs [14]. In clinical settings, BPD patients are regarded as notoriously difficult to treat, leading many therapists to refrain from treating them.…”