Perceived Feeling of Security: A Candidate for Assessing Remission in Borderline Patients?

Abstract

Abstract:The aim of the study was for the first time to examine whether adults diagnosed with Borderline Personality Disorder feel that their sense of security improved through treatment with Dialectical Behavioral Therapy conducted one or two years earlier. In the current study perceived security was defined as a feeling of being free of worrisome or threatening phenomena. Twenty-three patients (2 men and 21 women) aged 18 to 57 years, were recruited from five teams in Southwest Sweden. A questionnaire was constructed where responses were given on visual analogue scales. There were three questions about security, namely perceived security when completing the questionnaire as well as estimated perceived security before and after treatment. The three questions were embedded among 19 other questions which dealt with various aspects of quality of life. Results indicated three main results: (a) the patients reported feeling more secure following the treatment, (b) mental health of the patients and their health in a broader view appeared to be decisive for the perception of security and (c) the perception of greater security remained one or two years following treatment. The conclusion was that perceived feeling of security might be able to add a new dimension to currently used ways to assess the effects of the treatment of borderline patients and it might also be considered to be included in a future concept of borderline remission.

Patients’ Experiences after Cognitive Behavior Group Therapy: From Anxiety to Feelings of Perceived Security

“…The current study revealed how the three components, Sharing, Knowledge and Structures, contributed to the feelings of acceptance and security. The significance of perceived feeling of security as an expression of remission is in line with previous quantitative study of borderline patients (Norlander, Ernestad, Moradiani, & Nordén, 2015) which defined security in accordance with Segesten (1994) as "a perceived feeling of being free of worrisome or threatening phenomena ". The concept of remission can be described as the patient developing a good enough function in order to function well in society with the help of various strategies (Niklasson, Norlander, Niklasson, & Rasmussen, 2017).…”

Psychological Empowerment: Users and Professionals in Psychiatric Care before and after Mindfulness Treatment

“…Perceived Feeling of Security (PFS). The scale (Norlander et al, 2015) consists of a visual analogue scale (VAS) with the question "How secure do you feel in your environment?" Security is defined in accordance with Segesten as "a perceived feeling of being free of worrisome or threatening phenomena" (Segesten, 1994: p. 6).…”

“…The participants had to mark on a line with a length of one de-cimeter with anchor-points "Not to all secure"-"Very secure" evaluated from 0 to 100. The scale is considered to have acceptable psychometric properties (Norlander et al, 2015).…”

“…Perceived Satisfaction (PerSat). This quality of life instrument is based on a query battery (Norlander et al, 2015) with eleven questions about levels of satisfaction in various aspects, which are answered on VAS scales from 0 (Not to all satisfied) to 100 (Very much satisfied). Examples of questions are: "How satisfied are you currently with your life?"…”

“…Other studies indicate that the method also has the significance of relapse prevention of these disorders (Lilja et al, 2015;Lilja et al, 2016). Variables linked to mindfulness as self-compassion (Neff et al, 2007), perceived sense of security (Norlander et al, 2015), and client satisfaction (Angantyr et al, 2015) are inversely associated with negative states of mind such as depression, anxiety and stress and may therefore also function as indicators for successful treatment of mental health users (Norlander et al, 2015). A review of ten studies (Chiesa & Serretti, 2009) revealed that the method is also beneficial for reducing stress levels for healthy people, which is in line with another review consisting of twenty articles with health care providers (Escuriex & Labbé, 2011) where the conclusion was drawn that these persons benefited from mindfulness training through positive effects in terms of psychosocial ability and reduced stress experience.…”