Personality disorders

The present study investigated how stressors experienced by caregivers of people with personality disorders relate to each other and psychological distress, using the Stress Process Model (Pearlin et al. in Gerontologist 30(5):583–594, https://doi.org/10.1093/geront/30.5.583, 1990). A community sample of caregivers (N = 106) completed an online survey. Partial Least Squares Path Modelling revealed that caregivers who were male, younger, or residing with their loved one were more likely to experience stressors.

Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) is a common mental illness impacting around 1 to 4% of the Australian population (National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) 2012). Perspectives of family carers for people diagnosed with borderline personality disorder: A scoping review on the emergency care responses of nurses and other health professionals, Australasian Emergency Care. Managing people with mental health presentations in emergency departments: A service exploration of the issues surrounding responsiveness from a mental health care consumer and carer perspective, 

The Oxford Friends and Family Empowerment (OFAFE) service is a carer support service that originated in a collaboration between the Oxfordshire Complex Needs Service and the national mental health charity Rethink. OFAFE provides support and education for adults supporting an individual with a personality disorder. This paper describes the background and operation of the OFAFE service, along with the early stages of the development of a similar service for young carers, the Young Friends and Family Empowerment (YFAFE) service.

Carers provide unpaid support to family or friends with physical or mental health problems. This support may be within the domain of activities of daily living, such as personal care, or providing additional emotional support. While research has explored the carer experience within the National Health Service in the United Kingdom, it has not focused specifically on carers of individuals with a diagnosis of borderline personality disorder (BPD). Eight carers for those with a diagnosis of BPD were invited to take part in two focus groups.

The increasing focus on the involvement of people who use health and social care services and their carers in developing services and in social work education has the potential to bring significant change. This book examines the challenges in enabling people who are `experts by experience' to participate in an agenda which is largely dominated by 'top-down' managerial practices. Several themes run through the book.