Recovery college intervention for people living with BPD
Abstract
Purpose
Literature regarding recovery has focussed on diagnoses such as schizophrenia, with few papers focussing on borderline personality disorder (BPD). This is a significant area in need of change because a lack of research concentrating on recovery from BPD could be seen to perpetuate the view that recovery from this condition may not be possible. Recovery Colleges (RCs) in the UK began in 2009and aim to offer co-produced and co-facilitated psychoeducational courses to encourage recovery and enable people to develop skills and knowledge so they become experts in the self-management of their difficulties. Given the gaps within the recovery literature, it is unclear how Recovery Colleges can support recovery for people diagnosed with BPD. The purpose of this study was to explore the impact of a Recovery College course for people diagnosed with BPD.
Design/methodology/approach
Using participatory methods, this paper aims to explore the question of what personal recovery looks like for people with BPD and how this may prove useful in developing future practice in RCs. Qualitative feedback data was collected from 51 managing intense emotions courses delivered to 309 students using a patient reported experience measure between Autumn 2015 and Autumn 2021.
Findings
The results of this study indicate that people with BPD can experience recovery, whilst still experiencing symptoms, as long as they receive appropriate co-produced, recovery-orientated support and services.
Practical implications
Further research in this area could help shape future clinical practice by embedding a recovery-focussed programme into community services.
Originality/value
Literature regarding recovery has focussed on diagnoses such as schizophrenia withfew papers focussing on BPD. This is an area in need of change because a lack of research on recovery from BPD could be seen to perpetuate the view that recovery from this condition may not be possible. RCs offer co-produced and co-facilitated psychoeducational courses around recovery, enabling people to develop skills and knowledge to become experts in the self-management of their difficulties. Given the gaps within the recovery literature it is unclear how RCs can support recovery for this group of service users.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
With thanks to the members of the core project team for their time and discussion relating to the reported findings.The opinions expressed here represent those of the author and not necessarily those of Surrey and Borders Partnership NHS Foundation Trust.Availability of data and materials: The RC database contains anonymised student information; each student has a student number to maintain confidentiality. This is stored in an encrypted file with all personal identifiable information removed, in keeping with the requirements of the ethical approval process.Consent for publication: All participants provided written consent to the presentation of anonymised quotes from feedback forms.Competing interests: The author declares no competing interests in relation to this project.
Citation
Lane, C. (2022), "Recovery college intervention for people living with BPD", Mental Health and Social Inclusion, Vol. ahead-of-print No. ahead-of-print. https://doi.org/10.1108/MHSI-07-2022-0044
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
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