Employment in Personality Disorders and the Effectiveness of Individual Placement and Support: Outcomes from a Secondary Data Analysis.

Purpose Personality disorders (PDs) are associated with severe functional impairment and subsequent high societal costs, increasing the need to improve occupational functioning in PD. Individual placement and support (IPS) is an effective, evidence-based method of supported employment, which so far has been tested in various mixed patient populations with severe mental illness (SMI, including PDs). However, the effectiveness of IPS for PDs per se remains uninvestigated. Methods Data from the SCION trial were used, including 31 SMI patients with PDs and 115 SMI patients with other primary diagnoses (primarily psychotic disorders). First, the interaction effect of diagnosis (PD vs other SMI) and intervention (IPS vs traditional vocational rehabilitation) was studied. Second, in the IPS condition, difference between diagnostic groups in time to first job was studied. Results We did not find evidence of a moderating effect of PD diagnosis on the primary effect of IPS (proportion who started in regular employment) (OR = 0.592, 95% CI 0.80-4.350, p = 0.606) after 30 months. Also, PD diagnosis did not moderate the effect of time until first job in IPS. Conclusions From the present explorative analysis we did not find evidence for a moderating effect of PD diagnosis on the effectiveness of IPS among PD participants. This indicates that IPS could be as effective in gaining employment in participants with PD as it is in participants with other SMI. Future studies, implementing larger numbers, should confirm whether IPS is equally effective in PDs and study whether augmentations or alterations to the standard IPS model might be beneficiary for PD.

Seeking to understand lived experiences of personal recovery in personality disorder in community and forensic settings - a qualitative methods investigation.

BACKGROUND: Understandings of personal recovery have emerged as an alternative framework to traditional ideas of clinical progression, or symptom remission, in clinical practice. Most research in this field has focussed on the experience of individuals suffering with psychotic disorders and little research has been conducted to explore the experience of individuals with a personality disorder diagnosis, despite the high prevalence of such difficulties. The nature of the personality disorder diagnosis, together with high prevalence rates in forensic settings, renders the understanding of recovery in these contexts particularly problematic. The current study seeks to map out pertinent themes relating to the recovery process in personality disorder as described by individuals accessing care in either community or forensic settings. METHODS: Individual qualitative interviews were utilised to explore the lived experience of those receiving a personality disorder diagnosis and accessing mental health care in either community or forensic settings. A thematic analysis was conducted to identify shared concepts and understanding between participants. RESULTS: Fourty-one individual participant interviews were conducted across forensic and community settings. Recovery was presented by participants as a developing negotiated understanding of the self, together with looked for change and hope in the future. Four specific themes emerged in relation to this process: 1. Understanding early lived experience as informing sense of self 2. Developing emotional control 3. Diagnosis as linking understanding and hope for change 4. The role of mental health services. CONCLUSIONS: Through considering personal recovery in personality disorder as a negotiated understanding between the individual, their social networks and professionals this study illustrates the complexity of working through such a process. Clarity of understanding in this area is essential to avoid developing resistance in the recovery process. Understanding of recovery in a variety of diagnostic categories and social settings is essential if a truly recovery orientated mental health service is to be developed.

Understanding recovery in the context of lived experience of personality disorders: a collaborative, qualitative research study.

BACKGROUND: Concepts of recovery increasingly inform the development and delivery of mental health services internationally. In the UK recent policy advocates the application of recovery concepts to the treatment of personality disorders. However diagnosis and understanding of personality disorders remains contested, challenging any assumption that mainstream recovery thinking can be directly translated into personality disorders services. METHODS: In a qualitative interview-based study understandings of recovery were explored in extended, in-depth interviews with six people purposively sampled from a specialist personality disorders' service in the UK. An interpretive, collaborative approach to research was adopted in which university-, clinical- and service user (consumer) researchers were jointly involved in carrying out interviews and analysing interview data. RESULTS: Findings suggested that recovery cannot be conceptualised separately from an understanding of the lived experience of personality disorders. This experience was characterised by a complexity of ambiguous, interrelating and conflicting feelings, thoughts and actions as individuals tried to cope with tensions between internally and externally experienced worlds. Our analysis was suggestive of a process of recovering or, for some, discovering a sense of self that can safely coexist in both worlds. CONCLUSIONS: We conclude that key facilitators of recovery - positive personal relationships and wider social interaction - are also where the core vulnerabilities of individuals with lived experience of personaility disorders can lie. There is a role for personality disorders services in providing a safe space in which to develop positive relationships. Through discursive practice within the research team understandings of recovery were co-produced that responded to the lived experience of personality disorders and were of applied relevance to practitioners.

THE OFFENDER PERSONALITY DISORDER PATHWAY: RISKING REHABILITATION?

Following over a decade of treatment refusal by 'risky' offenders preventively detained in Dangerous and Severe Personality Disorder hospital and prison units, the coalition government now aims to improve treatment engagement in high secure prisons by clarifying pathways out of detention. This article asks whether the reconfiguration will end reliance upon preventive detention for public protection. Drawing on original empirical data collected by the author, it is argued that the government is unaware that offenders with 'severe personality disorder' appear to engage with treatment only if it increases their chances of achieving expedited parole. Hitherto, this incentive was provided by the Indeterminate Sentence for Public Protection; its replacement with determinate sentences under the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012 will worsen treatment engagement, because they provide offenders with a prison release date. The troubling result may be increased reliance by the Secretary of State for Justice on his inherent jurisdiction under the Mental Health Act 1983 to transfer offenders due for prison release to secure psychiatric hospitals. To counter this limitation of risk-focused decision-making, it is proposed that judges be able to impose a new hybrid order combining a custodial term with a subsequent community mental health treatment requirement.

Fewer re-admissions and bed days following an intensive transitional post-discharge aftercare programme for a mixed diagnostic group of patients.

BACKGROUND: The organization of aftercare is important for a successful outcome; still the optimal organization has not been fully explored. An intensive transitional post-discharge aftercare (TA) programme, for a mixed group of non-psychotic patients, was recently developed. Patients with non-psychotic diagnoses are often discharged with low well-being while still symptomatic, placing high demands on aftercare. AIMS: To evaluate retrospectively the short and long-term mental healthcare service use during and after the TA programme compared with the service use of a retrospective comparison group (RC), receiving less intensive outpatient aftercare. METHODS: Number of re-admissions, bed days and emergency visits after 10 weeks, 6 months and 1 year was retrospectively collected from electronic patient registers. Descriptive statistics, independent samples T-tests and repeated-measures analysis of variance was used to compare the groups. RESULTS: The majority of patients in both groups suffered from affective disorders, followed by personality disorders and a small number of other psychiatric diagnoses. Service use in the TA group was lower than in the RC group with fewer bed days after 10 weeks (P = 0.01) and after 6 months (P = 0.003), and fewer re-admissions after 6-12 months (P = 0.04). Emergency contacts did not differ significantly between the two groups at any point. CONCLUSIONS: The present study indicates beneficial effects of intensive TA, for a mixed group of non-psychotic patients. The lower service use in the TA programme group is in line with day treatment programme research for patients with affective disorders.

[Non-response to therapy in acute and rehabilitative psychosomatic inpatient care - a systematic review]. / Therapie-Non-Response in der psychosomatischen Krankenhausbehandlung und Rehabilitation - Eine systematische Übersicht.

OBJECTIVES: The study reviews the state-of-the art on failure research in acute and rehabilitative psychosomatic inpatient care. The main focus of interest lies in describing the frequency and possible predictors of unsuccessful therapeutic treatments. METHODS: We systematically searched the databases MEDLINE, PsycARTICLES, PsycINFO und PSYNDEX and selected studies from the past 20 years focusing on treatment failure in the inpatient psychosomatic treatment of adult patients. RESULTS: A total of 31 studies were included, 15 of which allowed the extraction of predictors of non-response or deterioration. 20 %to 30%of patients leave psychotherapeutic treatment without any significant change; 5 %to 10%deteriorate during their stay.A high level of symptom distress at intake, a chronic course of the disease as well as somatoform or personality disorders are associated with non-response and deterioration. Early response to treatment and a dysfunctional therapeutic alliance are possible further predictors, whereas sociodemographic and sociomedical variables are unlikely to have a predictive validity. CONCLUSIONS: Hypotheses about possible predictors can be derived from the results of this review. However, the interpretation of the results is limited by the heterogeneity of the methodology and of the samples of the studies included. Nevertheless the results can be used as a basis for further hypothesis-driven research.

Cost implications of treatment non-completion in a forensic personality disorder service.

BACKGROUND: A high proportion of individuals admitted to specialist secure hospital services for treatment of personality disorder do not complete treatment. Non-completion has been associated with poorer treatment outcomes and increased rates of recidivism and hospital readmission, when compared with individuals who do complete treatment or who do not receive treatment at all. AIMS: In this study, we sought to determine the economic consequences of non-completion of treatment, using case study data from a secure hospital sample. Both health and criminal justice service perspectives were taken into account. METHODS: Data were collected from a medium secure hospital personality disorder unit. A probabilistic decision-analytic model was constructed, using a Markov cohort simulation with 10,000 iterations. The expected cost differential between those who do and those who do not complete treatment was estimated, as was the probability of a cost differential over a 10-year post-admission time horizon. RESULTS: On average, in the first 10 years following admission, those who do not complete treatment go on to incur £52,000 more in costs to the National Health Service and criminal justice system than those who complete treatment. The model estimates that the probability that non-completers incur greater costs than completers is 78%. CONCLUSION: It is possible that an improvement in treatment completion rates in secure hospital personality disorder units would lead to some cost savings. This might be achievable through better selection into treatment or improved strategies for engagement and retention. Our study highlights a financial cost to society of individuals discharged from secure hospital care when incompletely treated. We suggest that it could, therefore, be useful for secure hospitals to introduce routine monitoring of treatment completion.

Costs and outcomes of an intervention programme for offenders with personality disorders.

BACKGROUND: The dangerous severe personality disorder programme was developed in high secure prisons and hospitals at great expense to identify and treat the most dangerous offenders with personality disorders. AIMS: To evaluate whether the long-term costs of the programme are greater or less than the long-term outcomes. METHOD: We used a Markov decision model with a cost-effectiveness analysis to determine the incremental cost of the programme per serious offence prevented and a cost-offset analysis to consider whether monetary benefits were greater than costs. RESULTS: Costs were consistently higher for the intervention programme and the cost per serious offence prevented was over £2 million, although there was some evidence that adjustments to the programme could lead to similar interventions becoming cost-effective. CONCLUSIONS: Little evidence was found to support the cost-effectiveness of the intervention programme for offenders with personality disorders, although delivery of the programme in a lower-cost prison would probably yield greater benefits than costs. There are frequent calls for mentally disordered offenders to be detained in secure hospitals rather than prisons; however, if reoffending remains the outcome of interest for policy makers, it is likely that the costs of detention in hospital will remain greater than the benefits for dangerous offenders with a personality disorder.

Personality disorders, common mental disorders and receipt of disability benefits: evidence from the British National Survey of Psychiatric Morbidity.

BACKGROUND: Common mental disorders (CMDs) are associated with occupational impairment and the receipt of disability benefits (DBs). Little is known about the relationship between personality disorders (PDs) and work disability, and whether the association between CMDs and work disability is affected by the presence of co-morbid PDs. The aim of this study was to examine the association between DB and individual categories of PDs, with special attention to the effect of co-morbid CMDs on this association. METHOD: The association between DB and PD was examined using data from the 2000 British National Survey of Psychiatric Morbidity. Probable PD caseness was identified using the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV Personality Disorders (SCID-II) screening questionnaire. The impact of CMDs, assessed with the revised version of the Clinical Interview Schedule (CIS-R), was examined as a covariate and in a stratified analysis of co-morbidity. Other covariates included sociodemographic factors, long-standing illnesses and substance use. RESULTS: Probable PD was associated with DB, with the strongest associations found for borderline, dependent and schizotypal PD. Antisocial PD was not associated with DB. The relationship between PD and DB was strongly modified by CMD, reducing the association from an odds ratio (OR) of 2.84 to 1.34 [95% confidence interval (CI) 1.00-1.79)]. In the stratified analysis, co-morbid PD and CMD showed a stronger association with DB than PD without CMD but, when fully adjusted, this effect was not significantly different from the association between CMD without PD. CONCLUSIONS: Individuals screening positive for PD are more likely to experience severe occupational outcomes, especially in the presence of co-morbid CMD.

Can deficits in empathy after head injury be improved by compassionate imagery?

Severe head injury (SHI) can result in problems in empathising, which in turn is associated with social difficulties. Compassionate imagery can increase compassion in non-brain injured people and can alter how they relate to themselves and others. This preliminary study investigates whether compassionate imagery can increase empathy in those with low empathy after SHI. A between-group repeated measures design was used wth 24 participants with severe SHI and low empathy, randomly allocated to a single treatment session of compassionate imagery or a control condition of relaxation. Empathy, self-compassion and relaxation were assessed pre- and post-intervention and fear of compassion pre-intervention as a potential covariate. A group effect of compassionate imagery on empathy was not found, F(1, 21) = 0.12, p = .73. A non-specific increase in self-compassion approached significance, T = 78.00, p = 0.07, r = -.26. Fear of compassion did not correlate significantly with changes in self-compassion or empathy. Demographic and injury factors associated with SHI that may impact on treatment effectiveness are discussed. Further research that takes these factors into account is warranted.

Sensemaking: a driving force behind the integration of professional practices.

PURPOSE: There has been considerable effort in recent years to link and integrate professional services more closely for patients with comorbidities. However, difficulties persist, especially at the clinical level. This study aims to shed light on these difficulties by examining the process of sensemaking in professionals directly involved in this integration. DESIGN/METHODOLOGY/APPROACH: The authors conducted an eight-year longitudinal case study of an organization specializing in mental health and substance abuse. Different data collection methods were used, including 34 interviews conducted between 2003 and 2009, observations and document analysis. The authors performed a qualitative analysis of the data using a processual perspective. FINDINGS: This paper provides empirical insights about the nature of the sensemaking process in which professionals collectively participate and the effects of this process on the evolution of integrated services. It suggests that the development of integrated practices results from an evolutional and collective process of constructing meanings that is rooted in the work activities of the professionals involved. PRACTICAL IMPLICATIONS: By drawing attention to the capacity of professionals to shape the projects they are implementing, this study questions the capacity of managers to actually manage such a process. In order to obtain the expected benefits of integration projects, such emergent dynamics must first be recognized and then supported. Only then can thought be given to mastering them. RESEARCH LIMITATIONS/IMPLICATIONS: The fact that this is a single case study is not a limitation per se, although it does raise the issue of the transferability of results. Replicating the study in other contexts would verify the applicability of the authors' conclusions. ORIGINALITY/VALUE: This study offers a fresh perspective on the difficulties generally encountered at the clinical level when trying to integrate services. It makes a significant contribution to work on the dynamics of sensemaking in organizational life.

Post-injury personality in the prediction of outcome following severe acquired brain injury.

PRIMARY OBJECTIVE: The aim of the study was to examine the utility of five measures of non-cognitive neurobehavioural (NCNB) changes that often occur following acquired brain injury, in predicting outcome (measured in terms of participation and social adaptation) at 1-year follow-up. RESEARCH DESIGN: The study employed a longitudinal, correlational design. METHODS AND PROCEDURES: Multiple regression was employed to investigate the value of five new NCNB measures of social perception, emotional regulation, motivation, impulsivity and disinhibition in the prediction of outcome as measured by the Mayo-Portland Adaptability Inventory (MPAI). MAIN OUTCOMES AND RESULTS: Two NCNB measures (motivation and emotional regulation) were found to significantly predict outcome at 1-year follow-up, accounting for 53% of the variance in MPAI total scores. CONCLUSIONS: These measures provide a method of quantifying the extent of NCNB changes following brain injury. The predictive value of the measures indicates that they may represent a useful tool which could aid clinicians in identifying early-on those whose symptoms are likely to persist and who may require ongoing intervention. This could facilitate the planning of rehabilitation programmes.

Clinical management of individuals with Intellectual Disability: The outbreak of Covid-19 pandemic as experienced in a clinical and research center Research in Developmental Disabilities.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, the Oasi Research Institute of Troina (Italy) became an important hotbed for infection; in fact, 109 patients with different levels of Intellectual Disability (ID) tested positive for COVID-19. The procedures and interventions put in place at the Oasi Research Institute due to the COVID-19 pandemic are exhaustively reported in this paper. The description of the clinical procedures as well as remote/in person psychological support services provided to people with ID and their families are here divided into three different sections: Phase I (or Acute phase), Phase II (or Activity planning), and Phase III (or Activity consolidation). In each section, the main psycho-pathological characteristics of patients, the reactions of family members and the multidisciplinary interventions put in place are also described.

The 10-year course of psychosocial functioning among patients with borderline personality disorder and axis II comparison subjects.

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to determine the 10-year course of the psychosocial functioning of patients with borderline personality disorder (BPD). METHOD: The social and vocational functioning of 290 inpatients meeting both the Revised Diagnostic Interview for Borderlines (DIB-R) and DSM-III-R criteria for BPD and 72 axis II comparison subjects were carefully assessed during their index admission. Psychosocial functioning was reassessed using similar methods at five contiguous 2-year time periods. RESULTS: Borderline patients without good psychosocial functioning at baseline reported difficulty attaining it for the first time. Those who had such functioning at baseline reported difficulty retaining and then regaining it. In addition, over 90% of their poor psychosocial functioning was due to poor vocational but not social performance. CONCLUSION: Good psychosocial functioning that involves both social and vocational competence is difficult for borderline patients to achieve and maintain over time. In addition, their vocational functioning is substantially more compromised than their social functioning.

Personality heterogeneity in female adolescent inpatients with features of eating disorders.

OBJECTIVE: This study examined evidence for personality variability in adolescents with eating disorder features in light of previous evidence that personality variability in adult women with eating disorder symptoms carries important clinical implications. METHOD: Millon Adolescent Clinical Inventory personality data from adolescent girls with disturbed eating who were psychiatrically hospitalized were cluster analyzed, and resulting groups were compared in eating and comorbid psychopathology. RESULTS: Three subgroups were identified among the 153 patients with eating disorder features: high functioning, internalizing, and externalizing. The internalizing group was marked by eating-related and mood dysfunction; the externalizing group by elevated eating and mood psychopathology as well as impulsivity, aggression, and substance use; and the high-functioning group by lower levels of psychopathology and relatively high self-esteem. CONCLUSIONS: These findings converge with previous research using different personality models in adult samples and highlight the clinical use of considering personality heterogeneity among adolescent and adult women with disturbed eating.

Process and outcome in psychodynamic hospitalization-based treatment for patients with a personality disorder.

This study examined the relationship between the psychotherapeutic process and outcome in 44 patients who completed hospitalization-based psychodynamic treatment for personality disorders. Using self-report and interview ratings, outcome was assessed in terms of symptoms and personality functioning, and the psychotherapeutic process in terms of self and object relations, felt safety, and reflective functioning. Symptom and process measures were administered at intake, every 3 months during treatment, and at 3 and 12 months follow-up. Personality measures were collected at intake, the end of treatment, and at 3 and 12 months follow-up. Using Piecewise Linear Growth Curve Analysis results showed improvement in symptoms, personality functioning, self and object relations and felt safety, but not in reflective functioning. Linear changes in self and object representation and felt safety, but not in reflective functioning, predicted improvement in outcome.

An empirical evaluation of reasons for non-completion of treatment in a dangerous and severe personality disorder unit.

BACKGROUND: Individuals deemed to be of high risk to others, and diagnosed with severe personality disorders have become the focus for developing clinical services in England. Such services often require highly secure accommodation and labour-intensive therapeutic interventions. There is, however, uncertainty about the capacity to engage such patients effectively in therapies. AIM: Here, we examine service evaluation monitoring data to identify the level of completion of therapeutic programmes in a high secure severe personality disordered population, and analyse reasons for failure to complete. METHOD: Guidelines for classifying reasons for non-completion were developed, based on the multifactorial offender readiness model (MORM). Electronic case notes were searched for references to non-completion, and recorded reasons for non-completion were classified. RESULTS: Non-completion was at a relatively modest level. The main reasons for non-completion were: (1) affective: general distress of the patient or specific emotional reactions to previous offending, e.g. shame; (2) volitional: pursuing goals other than treatment; and (3) cognitive: negative self-efficacy beliefs and negative evaluations (low trust) of staff and the programme. External factors included exclusion from treatment and transfer to another unit. CONCLUSION: This study identifies specific readiness areas that might need to be addressed in efforts to improve engagement and retention in treatment. A wider range of methodologies is required for future studies.

[The resource orientated integration of chronic mentally ill into regular employment via "One-Euro-Jobs"--initial experiences of a model project]. / Die ressourcenorientierte Integration chronisch psychisch Kranker in den Arbeitsmarkt über Ein-Euro-Jobs--erste Erfahrungen eines Modellprojekts.

Until recently the vocational rehabilitation of chronic mentally ill often resulted in employment in the framework of sheltered workshops. There are an increased number of workshops and day clinics but in this context the patient does not come in contact with the everyday working environment. However, several multicenter studies demonstrated that "Individual Placement Support" (IPS) is more effective than vocational services. The aim of our project is to show that this concept is applicable even to patients with chronic and severe psychiatric diseases. We created "One-Euro-Jobs" for patients with chronic mental illnesses within regular employments in the confinements of our clinic. The choice of workplace was carried out according to the individual experience and knowledge and included the library, central buying and post office. Until now 15 mentally ill patients with an average disease duration of 11 years were included in the project. 1 patient discontinued within the first 3 weeks. The others were occupied on average for 9 months. Our project shows that integration of chronically mental ill patients in regular employment environments is possible. Concerns that the pressure and stress would be too extreme were proved to be unfounded.

[Socio-demographic and clinical assessment, and trajectory of a sample of French pathological gamblers]. / Évaluation sociodémographique, clinique et du parcours de jeu d'un échantillon de joueurs pathologiques français.

INTRODUCTION: International studies estimate the incidence of pathological gambling among adults at 0.2-3%. Following the lead of Anglo-Saxon countries, France has only just begun to consider this "new" addiction in studying its own population of pathological gamblers, attempting to understand the causes of the illness, and proposing specific treatments. OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to carry out a multiaxial assessment of French pathological gamblers, current or former outpatients of the addiction ambulatory care center of the University Hospital of Nantes, in order to compare our findings with those of the international literature. METHOD: During a single personal interview, the participants filled in a set of questionnaires including a description of gambling characteristics (pathological gambling section in the DSM-IV, South Oaks Gambling Screen, gambling history), a screening for axis I (Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview) and II (structured clinical interview for DSM-IV Axis II Personality Disorders), comorbidities and personality tests using a dimensional approach (Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory, Sensation Seeking Scale, Barratt Impulsiveness Scale, Toronto Alexithymia Scale). The number of subjects to include was not previously calculated, since the size of the sample depended upon each subject's availability and on the inclusion time period limited to 4 months. Continuous variables were described in terms of means and standard deviations, while categorical variables were described in terms of percentages. The protocol was accepted by the Advisory Committee for the Protection of Biomedical Research Subjects. RESULTS: Analysis of the findings was based on a sample of 24 subjects. Half of the subjects fell into severe pathological gambling. Gambling had started at an average age of 24.9 years (S.D.=12.3). The gambling problem appeared on average 9.4 years later (S.D.=8.1). Casinos (41.7%) and sports pools (45.8%) were the most commonly reported types of games. Seventy-five percent of the sample suffered from at least one axis I psychiatric comorbidity. Most common among these were current (20.9%) and past (37.5%) episodes of major depression. Risk of suicide was observed in 36% of subjects, and nearly half of them were not currently suffering from an episode of major depression. The second most common psychiatric comorbidity was substance abuse (including alcohol) (54.2%). Personality disorders were common (54.2%) and mainly cluster B disorders (29.2%). Impulsiveness and alexithymia scores were above average, unlike sensation seeking scores. CONCLUSIONS: The results go along the same lines as those mentioned in the international literature and show how important it is to carry out multidimensional assessments within the context of pathological gambling, since comorbidities are such a burden. This study brings to light several perspectives. It would be interesting to repeat the assessment using a much larger sample. We plan to study those factors that influence the emergence of pathological gambling, and the initiation of specific treatments for pathological gamblers. Upon completion, the study would allow us to propose the treatment that is best suited to each gambler's profile.

Randomised feasibility trial of the helping families programme-modified: an intensive parenting intervention for parents affected by severe personality difficulties.

BACKGROUND: Specialist parenting intervention could improve coexistent parenting and child mental health difficulties of parents affected by severe personality difficulties. OBJECTIVE: Conduct a feasibility trial of Helping Families Programme-Modified (HFP-M), a specialist parenting intervention. DESIGN: Pragmatic, mixed-methods trial, 1:1 random allocation, assessing feasibility, intervention acceptability and outcome estimates. SETTINGS: Two National Health Service health trusts and local authority children's social care. PARTICIPANTS: Parents: (i) primary caregiver, (ii) 18 to 65 years, (iii) severe personality difficulties, (iv) proficient English and (v) capacity for consent. Child: (i) 3 to 11 years, (ii) living with index parent and (iii) significant emotional/behavioural difficulties. INTERVENTION: HFP-M: 16-session home-based intervention using parenting and therapeutic engagement strategies. Usual care: standard care augmented by single psychoeducational parenting session. OUTCOMES: Primary feasibility outcome: participant retention rate. SECONDARY OUTCOMES: (i) rates of recruitment, eligibility and data completion, and (ii) rates of intervention acceptance, completion and alliance (Working Alliance Inventory-Short Revised). Primary clinical outcome: child behaviour (Eyberg Child Behaviour Inventory). SECONDARY OUTCOMES: child mental health (Concerns About My Child, Child Behaviour Checklist-Internalising Scale), parenting (Arnold-O'Leary Parenting Scale, Kansas Parental Satisfaction Scale) and parent mental health (Symptom-Checklist-27). Quantitative data were collected blind to allocation. RESULTS: Findings broadly supported non-diagnostic selection criterion. Of 48 participants recruited, 32 completed post-intervention measures at mean 42 weeks later. Participant retention exceeded a priori rate (HFP-M=18; Usual care=14; 66.7%, 95% CI 51.6% to 79.6%). HFP-M was acceptable, with delivery longer than planned. Usual care had lower alliance rating. Child and parenting outcome effects detected across trial arms with potential HFP-M advantage (effect size range: 0.0 to 1.3). CONCLUSION: HFP-M is an acceptable and potentially effective specialist parenting intervention. A definitive trial is feasible, subject to consideration of recruitment and retention methods, intervention efficiency and comparator condition. Caution is required in interpretation of results due to reduced sample size. No serious adverse events reported. TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER: ISRCTN14573230.