Experience of crisis and recovery in BPD: an exploratory study
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Experiences of crisis and recovery (for people living with a diagnosis of Borderline Personality Disorder): an exploratory study
IRAS ID
168975
Contact name
Kate Spencer-Brand
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
King's College London
Duration of Study in the UK
2 years, 9 months, 30 days
Research summary
People with Borderline Personality Disorder diagnoses experience difficulties with their sense of identity, may find it hard to maintain connections with others, and may act without thinking: BPD is characterised clinically as a pervasive pattern of instability in relationships and self-image and marked impulsivity. One study[1] into the lived experience of BPD describes women’s struggle to take control of their lives and their need to feel safe to move on from potentially fatal self-harming. The majority of people with BPD self-harm and may make frequent use of emergency and acute/crisis services. Despite this, no evidence-based interventions exist for crises in BPD[2]. Crisis intervention teams may be ambivalent about treating people due to uncertainty over identifying when crises have been resolved, and therefore when discharge is appropriate.
This study aims to use qualitative research and service user involvement methods to find out more about the experiences of crisis, and of recovery from crisis, in BPD and what recovery means to people with the diagnosis. This should provide a theoretical basis for developing crisis interventions. The study will use in-depth interviews to generate data. Participants will be interviewed within two weeks of discharge from an acute service and again three-six months later. A complex thematic analysis approach will be used to analyse the data both across each wave of interviews and over time, in order to describe what crises are like, and then how things did (or did not) change for participants.
[1] Holm & Severinsson (2011). Struggling to recover by changing suicidal behaviour: Narratives from women with borderline personality disorder. International Journal of Mental Health Nursing 20, 165–173.
[2] Borschmann et al (2012). Crisis interventions for people with borderline personality disorder. Cochrane Database Systematic Reviews 6: CD009353.
REC name
London - Camberwell St Giles Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
15/LO/0784
Date of REC Opinion
30 Jun 2015
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion