AUTHOR=Hestbæk Emilie , Hasselby-Andersen Mathilde , Juul Sophie , Beier Nynne , Simonsen Sebastian 

TITLE=Mentalizing the patient–Patient experiences with short-term mentalization-based therapy for borderline personality disorder: A qualitative study

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Psychiatry

VOLUME=Volume 13 - 2022

YEAR=2022

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/psychiatry/articles/10.3389/fpsyt.2022.1088872

DOI=10.3389/fpsyt.2022.1088872

ISSN=1664-0640

ABSTRACT=Background: Mentalization-Based Therapy (MBT) is an evidence-supported psychotherapy approach for borderline personality disorder (BPD) that has been implemented in mental health services worldwide. Originally, MBT was developed as an 18-months program for BPD. However, a short-term (5 months) MBT program has been developed. Research into patient experiences with long-term MBT for BPD is scarce, and no studies have investigated patient experience with short-term MBT for BPD. 
Objective: The objective of this study was to explore patient experience with short-term MBT for BPD in the Danish mental health services.
Methods: Semi-structured qualitative interviews were conducted with 12 outpatients diagnosed with BPD, who attended short-term MBT for 5 months. The interviews were verbatim transcribed and analyzed using thematic analysis with double coding. 
Results: The analysis resulted in four subordinate themes: 1) Treatment duration – too short or appropriately short?, 2) The group as a ‘safe space’, 3) Bad experiences impacted treatment negatively, and 4) My life has changed for the better. 
Conclusion: The results suggest that most of the patients were overall satisfied with short-term MBT, which they experienced as having a positive impact on their lives. However, a subgroup of patients wanted more therapy. This study highlighted the strengths and limitations of short-term MBT for BPD as experienced by the patients, and points to barriers in developing service-user informed short-term treatment options for BPD.