Recovery, as Experienced by Women with Borderline Personality Disorder

Abstract

Studies examining recovery through the service users' perspectives have mainly included persons with schizophrenia or bipolar disorder. Giving voice to those with borderline personality disorder (BPD) would enrich our understanding of recovery, as their specific experiences may bring new dimensions, obstacles and facilitators. The objective of this study was to qualitatively capture the experience of recovery in women with BPD. Participants were women between 18 and 65 years old who had a diagnosis of BPD and completed at least 2 years in a program for persons with BPD. During the first meeting, they produced a picture collage, followed by an interview on their experience of recovery. The second meeting was a phone interview to discuss new thoughts. In addition, their medical records were reviewed. A thematic analysis of the interviews was conducted and organized with the Person-Environment-Occupation model. Although recovery was not the best term to name their experience, they all talked about a process towards stability and wellbeing (n = 12). Dimensions of recovery included, for example, letting go of the past (person), being involved in meaningful activities (occupation) and having healthy relationships (environment). Facilitators included social support and participation in a specialized therapy program. The main obstacle was unstable family relationships. The findings from this study showed similar dimensions to previous recovery studies, new perspectives on certain dimensions, as well as new ones. They also reinforced the importance to incorporate intervention outcomes that target the person with BPD, their social environment and meaningful occupations.

Staff perceptions of borderline personality disorder and recovery: A Q‐sort method approach

“…These views are inconsistent with qualitative research by Larivière et al. (), which suggested that involvement in meaningful activities such as employment and education was a key dimension of recovery in borderline personality disorder for patients themselves. The views expressed by staff in the present study perhaps indicate that they do not expect that patients with borderline personality disorder are capable of engaging with these activities or achieving ‘normal’ functioning.…”

“…A recent systematic review by Ng, Bourke, and Grenyer () aimed to understand how patients, clinicians, family, and carers perceived recovery from borderline personality disorder. The review identified 16 longitudinal quantitative studies with 11 unique cohorts, and three qualitative studies (Larivière et al., ; Katsakou et al., ; Holm & Severinsson, ) that examined recovery in borderline personality disorder. Quantitative studies tended to define recovery in terms of clinical remission from diagnostic criteria, and level of functioning as measured through scales such as the Health‐Sickness Rating Scale (Luborsky, ).…”

“…The need to improve emotional regulation, develop an identity, and improve interpersonal skills and relationships were emphasized as significant factors for further change. Two studies discovered that patients believed that the word ‘recovery’ was not representative of their experiences, instead conceptualizing it as a journey leading to improved well‐being (Larivière et al., ; Katsakou et al., ). Overall, Ng et al.…”

Quality of life in borderline patients comorbid with anxiety spectrum disorders – a cross-sectional study

“…Job environment can be one of the areas where patients with BPD struggle for maintaining their identity. 46 – 49 Conflicts with boss and colleagues are frequent; individuals with BPD mostly fight against assumed injustice and nepotism and accuse the others of incompetence, lack of diligence, and gaining benefits from their bosses. Occupational patterns are characterized by instability, intense preoccupation, the subsequent loss of interest in the job, lack of job satisfaction, and problems in relationships.…”

Comparison of Objective and Subjective Life Balance Between Women With and Without a Personality Disorder

“…The findings in this study tend to point to an overall lack of meaning in the activities accomplished and this justifies the importance of client-centred interventions to better understand the values, the interests and the types of meaning derived from activities experienced by clients with personality disorders and then, to enable accomplishment of meaningful activities in their daily life considering facilitators and obstacles. This was identified as a dimension of recovery in persons with borderline personality disorders [42,43]. As both groups of women felt imbalanced in every category of needs assessed in the subjective life balance questionnaire, it would be useful to provide opportunities and tools, such as the Life Balance Inventory or the Occupational Questionnaire, to reflect on use of time and on quantity and variety of activities one experiences in order to improve overall global health and quality of life.…”