Meaningful Ways of Understanding and Measuring Change for People with Borderline Personality Disorder: A Thematic Analysis

摘要

Background: The effective treatment of Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) presents healthcare providers with a significant challenge. The evidence base remains limited partially due to a lack of professional consensus and service user involvement regarding ways of measuring change. As a result, the limited evidence that is available draws on such a wide range of outcome measures, that comparison across treatment types is hindered, maintaining a lack of clarity regarding the clinical needs of this group. Aims: This investigation aimed to follow the National Institute of Clinical Excellence (NICE, 2009) research recommendations by asking service users about meaningful change within their recovery. This forms a starting point for the future development of a tailored outcome measure. Method: Fifteen service users with a diagnosis of BPD participated in three focus groups across two specialist Personality Disorder services. The focus groups were analysed using Thematic Analysis. Results: Two superordinate themes were synthesized from the data: (1) recovery to what?: ‘How do you rewrite who you are?’; and (2) conditions for change. Each superordinate theme further consisted of three subordinate themes which elucidated the over-arching themes. Conclusion: This investigation highlights the complex nature of measuring change in people who have received a BPD diagnosis. Further research is needed to develop meaningful ways of measuring change according to the needs and priorities of people with BPD.