The experiences of parents in an early-intervention program for young people with borderline personality disorder features.

Previous research demonstrates that parents' communication skills may contribute to the development and maintenance of their young person's borderline personality disorder (BPD). Carers of people with BPD also experience their own psychosocial stressors and feel unsupported. Consequently, Dialectical Behavior Therapy for adolescents (DBT-A) invites parents to partake in group therapy alongside their young person. Despite this involvement, little research exists examining parents' perspective of engaging in a DBT-A program, and specifically whether they experience their own benefits and changes from being part of the program. To examine this, the current study interviews 34 parents who engaged in an early intervention DBT-A program. Thematic analysis resulted in seven key themes and 16 subthemes beginning with parents' expectations of the program, followed by the key elements of the program that facilitated change, and the actual changes and benefits attributed to these elements. Overall, parents were surprised by their own gains from the program, and how the skills they learned facilitated personal development that improved family communication and functioning with their young person and more broadly. This study addresses the gap in understanding the parent perspective with clinical implications for the benefits of involving parents in therapy more generally.

Therapeutic interventions in Australian primary care, youth mental health settings for young people with borderline personality disorder or borderline traits.

BACKGROUND: This study aimed to investigate what therapeutic interventions were being applied by clinicians working with young people with a diagnosis of Borderline Personality Disorder or borderline traits in Australian primary mental health care settings. Given the current lack of evidence-based guidelines for treatment with this client population, investigating what is being implemented is needed. The study also aimed to determine whether the interventions clinicians are using are effective in reducing distress and increasing functioning for these clients. METHODS: Participant data came from the national minimum data set for headspace youth mental health centers across Australia. Young people's data were included in the study if the young person was diagnosed with Borderline Personality Disorder or borderline traits during their first episode of care (N = 701). Clinician data that indicated the type of intervention used at each client session and outcome measures routinely captured were analyzed to determine interventions used and outcomes achieved. RESULTS: Results demonstrated that CBT was the most frequently used modality of intervention followed by supportive counselling and IPT, but that most clients received a variety of intervention types. There were no or only weak relationships between changes in outcomes and the amount of any type of intervention that was provided. No significant relationship was found with the amount of CBT a client received and changes in symptoms or functioning, despite being the most commonly employed modality. CONCLUSIONS: The study highlights the need for evidence-based treatment guidelines for early intervention in young people with borderline personality disorder traits.