Testing A Pilot Intervention For Young People With Early Borderline Personality Disorder

Although symptoms of BDP peak in adolescence, the nature and provenance of BDP in young adults remains under-researched.

The project

Borderline personality disorder or BPD is characterised by difficulties in managing emotional responses, impulse control and self-image. BPD is commonly under-diagnosed resulting in young people not receiving any treatment or support. Often young people with BPD are unable to stay in education or employment and can become estranged from their family.

This study will assess the feasibility of a newly developed treatment programme that is personalised for each patient and delivered in the community instead of in a specialised care setting.

It is hoped that this new treatment programme will help young people with BPD have their support needs recognised by everyone involved in their lives.

The process

This study will focus on a group of 60 young people (aged 14-24) who have complex, longstanding mental health needs and who may not already be accessing mental health services. They will be assessed via questionnaire for BPD and then randomly assigned to either the new treatment programme or existing treatments. They will be monitored through further questionnaires and clinical led assessments to measure success and impact.

This study will be developed and reviewed through on-going collaborative work with multi-agency groups including schools, youth workers and GP’s to ensure it is undertaken with the highest ethical standards.

The potential

Impact areas (how does it improve people’s lives):
– Better detection – identifying young people who have BPD but would otherwise be unable to access support
– Better treatment – new model of treatment delivery that is more appropriate to the complex contexts of many young people with BPD
– Reducing mental health inequalities

This research, in addition to assessing the viability of this new early intervention treatment, will also assess the possibility of early identification of BPD and help identify the ‘hidden groups’ of young people who need support.

This feasibility study could, in the longer term, provide a model that can be rolled out much more widely and reach those who are currently being missed. The trial, recruiting from both services and the general population, will provide a clear description, useful to commissioners and policy-makers, of the complex needs of young people with BPD, who may otherwise be missed from services because they don’t “fit” a traditional service model/diagnosis.

This research could therefore improve quality of life and even save lives, not just of those young people involved in the trial but many beyond.

This MQ Fellowship has been fully funded thanks to the generosity of Jan Tymoteusz Szczuka’s legacy gift and The Rosetrees Trust. MQ would like to express our appreciation to them for their critical support.