‘I feel like they understand me a bit more’: The experiences of young people with borderline personality disorder following their parents taking part in a mentalisation-based intervention for parents and carers (MBT-FACTS)

Abstract

Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) is a distressing mental illness that is overrepresented in adolescents and youth and which was previously thought difficult to treat. Families and carers of those with BPD can also experience high levels of distress and burden and can struggle in their support of those with BPD. The Families and Carers Training and Support (FACTS) program is an innovative skills and education program for family members and carers of someone with BPD informed by mentalisation-based treatment (MBT) principles. To address a gap in the research, the present study aimed to see what effect, if any, a carer-focused intervention has on the young people with BPD themselves. To assess this, interviews were conducted with eight young people whose family members participated in the program. Overall, the young people felt there had been positive changes during and after their family members' participation in the program. They felt the communication with their family members improved; they also felt more understood and that they had more space and freedom in the home and that the tension in the household decreased. Additionally, several young people felt they would have liked to be more involved in the process and to take part in the program alongside their family members. The findings indicate that interventions focusing on building understanding and self-awareness in carers of those BPD can be important in ameliorating the challenging impact of BPD on young people and their families.