LAUSR

ABSTRACT Objective: Borderline personality disorder exacerbates the everyday challenges of parenting and may lead to adverse consequences for both the individual and their family. This study is the first to evaluate the effectiveness of a brief parenting intervention for people with personality disorder using the perspectives of trained clinicians. Method: The study used detailed retrospective qualitative and quantitative methods to evaluate clinician (n = 12) implementation in real world settings over the first 12-months after being trained in the intervention. Results: Clinicians were all using the intervention, predominantly as a module or sub-set of strategies within a larger treatment plan. Including the parenting intervention was associated with positive client outcomes across multiple areas of psychological functioning. Clinicians reported that the intervention was also effective at increasing their capacity to reflect upon parenting issues with their clients. Qualitative responses revealed three major themes: noticing client parenting improvement; improved clinician efficacy in conducting parenting interventions due to a manualised approach; and systemic improvement in work practices and attitudes to working with parenting aspects of treatment. Discussion: Follow-up evaluation indicated that adding a parenting intervention to standard treatment improved parenting capacity for people with personality disorder, while simultaneously supporting clinicians’ capacity to work with this clinical population. The findings contribute to an understanding of how clinicians’ use interventions in practice and their effectiveness in an area that has the potential to reduce the impact of personality disorder on families.