Background The concept of recovery in borderline personality disorder (BPD) is not well defined. Whilst clinical approaches emphasise symptom reduction and functioning, consumers advocate for a holistic approach. The consumer perspective on recovery and comparisons of individuals at varying stages have been minimally explored. Method Fourteen narratives of a community sample of adult women with a self-reported diagnosis of BPD, were analysed using qualitative interpretative phenomenological analysis to understand recovery experiences. Individuals were at opposite ends of the recovery continuum (seven recovered and seven not recovered). Results Recovery in BPD occurred across three stages and involved four processes. Stages included; 1) being stuck, 2) diagnosis, and 3) improving experience. Processes included; 1) hope, 2) active engagement in the recovery journey, 3) engagement with treatment services, and 4) engaging in meaningful activities and relationships. Differences between individuals in the recovered and not recovered group were prevalent in the improving experience stage. Conclusion Recovery in BPD is a non-linear, ongoing process, facilitated by the interaction between stages and processes. Whilst clinical aspects are targets of specialist interventions, greater emphasis on fostering individual motivation, hope, engagement in relationships, activities, and treatment, may be required within clinical practice for a holistic recovery approach. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (10.1186/s40479-019-0107-2) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Background Chronic feelings of emptiness is an under-researched symptom of borderline personality disorder (BPD), despite indications it may be central to the conceptualisation, course, and outcome of BPD treatment. This systematic review aimed to provide a comprehensive overview of chronic feelings of emptiness in BPD, identify key findings, and clarify differences between chronic feelings of emptiness and related constructs like depression, hopelessness, and loneliness. Method A PRISMA guided systematic search of the literature identified empirical studies with a focus on BPD or BPD symptoms that discussed chronic feelings of emptiness or a related construct. Results Ninety-nine studies met criteria for inclusion in the review. Key findings identified there were significant difficulties in defining and measuring chronic emptiness. However, based on the studies reviewed, chronic emptiness is a sense of disconnection from both self and others. When experienced at frequent and severe levels, it is associated with low remission for people with BPD. Emptiness as a construct can be separated from hopelessness, loneliness and intolerance of aloneness, however more research is needed to explicitly investigate these experiences. Chronic emptiness may be related to depressive experiences unique to people with BPD, and was associated with self-harm, suicidality, and lower social and vocational function. Conclusions and implications We conclude that understanding chronic feelings of emptiness is central to the experience of people with BPD and treatment focusing on connecting with self and others may help alleviate a sense of emptiness. Further research is required to provide a better understanding of

Chronic emptiness is associated with dysfunctional behaviours such as impulsivity and self-harm, and poor psychosocial improvement. Interventions targeting chronic emptiness in those most vulnerable may improve functional outcomes. © 2018 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Background -Individuals with personality disorders-particularly borderline personality disorder-are high users of mental health treatment services. Emergency service responses often focus on crisis management, and there are limited opportunities to provide appropriate longer term evidence-based treatment. Many individuals with personality disorders find themselves in a revolving cycle between emergency departments and waiting for community treatment. A stepped care approach may help to triage clients and allow access to interventions with minimal client, clinician and system burden. This study aims to understand the facilitators and barriers to realworld implementation of a stepped care approach to treating personality disorders. Methods -Managers and clinicians of health services engaged in implementation were interviewed to obtain accounts of experiences. Interviews were transcribed and thematically analysed to generate themes describing barriers and facilitators. Results -Participants identified personal attitudes, knowledge and skills as important for successful implementation. Existing positive attitudes and beliefs about treating people with a personality disorder contributed to the emergence of clinical champions. Training facilitated positive attitudes by justifying the psychological approach. Management support was found to bi-directionally effect implementation. Conclusions -This study suggests specific organizational and individual factors may increase timely and efficient implementation of interventions for people with personality disorders.

Adolescent self-harm is a significant public health issue. We aimed to understand how parent stress response styles to their child’s self-harm affects their wellbeing and functioning and the wider family. Thirty-seven participants in Australia (parents; 92% female) completed a mixed methods survey regarding their adolescent child’s self-harm. We conducted Pearson zero-order correlations and independent t-tests to examine the impact of parent response style on their quality of life, health satisfaction, daily functioning, and mental health. We also used thematic analysis to identify patterns of meaning in the data. Two-thirds of participants reported mental ill health and reduced functional capacity due to their adolescent’s self-harm. Parents with a more adaptive response style to stress had better mental health. Qualitative analyses revealed parents experienced sustained feelings of distress and fear, which resulted in behavioural reactions including hypervigilance and parental mental health symptoms. In the wider family there was a change in dynamics and parents reported both functional and social impacts. There is a need to develop psychological support for the adolescent affected and parents, to support more adaptive response styles, and decrease the negative effects and facilitate the wellbeing of the family unit.

BackgroundAlthough there is growing evidence that stepped models of care are useful for providing appropriate, person centered care, there are very few studies applied to personality disorders. A brief, four session, psychological treatment intervention for personality disorder within a whole of service stepped care model was evaluated. The intervention stepped between acute emergency crisis mental health services and longer-term outpatient treatments.MethodsStudy 1 used service utilization data from 191 individuals referred to the brief intervention at a single community health site in a metropolitan health service. Proportions of individuals retained across the intervention and the referral pathways accessed following the intervention were examined.Study 2 examined 67 individuals referred to the brief intervention across 4 different sites in metropolitan health services. A range of measures of symptoms and quality of life were administered at the first and last session of the intervention. Effect sizes were calculated to examine mean changes across the course of the intervention.ResultsStudy 1 found that 84.29% of individuals referred to the intervention attended at least 1 session, 60.21% attended 2 sessions or more and 41.89% attended 3 or more sessions. 13.61% of the sample required their care to be “stepped up” within the service, whereas 29.31% were referred to other treatment providers following referral to the intervention. Study 2 found a significant reduction in borderline personality disorder symptom severity and distress following the intervention, and an increase in quality of life. The largest reduction was found for suicidal ideation (d = 1.01).ConclusionsBrief psychological intervention was a useful step between acute services and longer-term treatments in this stepped model of care for personality disorder. Suicide risk and symptom severity reduced and quality of life improved, with only a small proportion of individuals requiring ongoing support from the health service following the intervention.

Negative online reviews and webcare strategies in social media: effects on hotel attitude and booking intentions The purpose of this research is to examine the effects of different webcare strategies (defensive, accommodative, no action) across two different types of social media (TripAdvisor and Twitter) on hotel attitude and booking intentions. The results of an experimental design show that negative electronic word-ofmouth (NWOM) has a negative effect on attitudes and booking intention. Moreover, the benefits derived from the type of response vary depending on the social media type in which NWOM appears. The findings also suggest that no response is worse than either defensive or accommodative responses.

Background A cystic fibrosis (CF)‐specific cognitive‐behavioral therapy intervention (CF‐CBT) was developed in partnership with the CF community to advance preventive mental health care. Multidisciplinary providers across three centers were trained to deliver CF‐CBT for this pilot assessing feasibility/acceptability and preliminary effectiveness of an integrated model of care. Methods The 8‐session CF‐CBT was delivered to 14 adults with mild depression and/or anxiety symptoms in‐person and via audio telehealth. Assessment of attrition, engagement, homework completion, treatment satisfaction, and treatment fidelity informed feasibility/acceptability assessment. Mental health outcomes included depression, anxiety, quality of life (Cystic Fibrosis Questionnaire‐Revised [CFQ‐R), perceived stress and coping. Preliminary effectiveness was evaluated with Cohen's d metric of effect sizes (ES) of pre‐post mean change scores. Results A total of 108 sessions were conducted; 13 adults completed the intervention; 1 discontinued early. Engagement, homework completion, and treatment acceptability were highly rated (mean = 30; SD = 2, range: 27–32 on a 32‐point scale). Fidelity scores ranged from 85.7% to 93.6%. Large ES changes reflected improvements in depressive symptoms (−0.83), CFQ‐R (Vitality scale: 1.11), and Relaxation Skills (0.93); moderate ES for CFQ‐R Role Functioning (0.63), Awareness of Tension (0.62), Coping Confidence (0.70) and CF‐specific Coping (0.55); and small ES for anxiety symptoms (−0.22), perceived stress (−0.25), Behavioral Activation (0.29), and several CFQ‐R domains, including Emotional Functioning (0.29). Two CFQ‐R subscales decreased (Body Image, Eating Concerns). Conclusions Results indicated feasibility and acceptability of CF‐CBT and its integration into team‐based CF care with promising effectiveness, especially for depression. A multicenter randomized controlled trial of CF‐CBT will further examine effectiveness of a CF‐specific integrated care model.