Crisis Resolution Home Treatment Team Clinicians’ Perceptions of Using a Recovery Approach With People With a Diagnosis of Borderline Personality Disorder

Abstract

Introduction: People with a diagnosis of borderline personality disorder (BPD) are often in contact with mental health services at a point of crisis and in the UK this includes Crisis Resolution Home Treatment teams (CRHTT). There is a drive for services to be recovery orientated, however, there is little evidence about the degree to which community services achieve this for people with a diagnosis of BPD when in crisis. Research aim: To understand the perceptions held by CRHTT clinicians about their provision of recovery-orientated acute care, for people with a diagnosis of BPD. Method: From a purposive sample of a single CRHTT, seven registered mental health nurses were interviewed and Braun and Clarke’s thematic analysis framework was used to interpret the data. Results: Five themes emerged: person-centred care; the timing is wrong; inconsistent staffing; the risks are too great; and BPD as a label. Discussion: The results demonstrate tensions between a drive to deliver person-centred care and a range of challenges that inhibit this, with the possibility of re-framing a recovery approach as ‘recovery-ready’. Implications for practice: A whole-systems approach is required to enable a consistent recovery-oriented approach, but research is also needed for brief interventions specific to this context.