(PS12-A25) Assessing Patient Perceptions of a Short-term, Personality-based Treatment for Borderline Personality Disorder

Treatments are often adapted to be inclusive to different populations (e.g., veterans, sexual and gender minorities, immigrants) long after development. We propose that the most efficient way to address mental health disparities is to design inclusive treatments at the outset. Treatments for BPD may represent a particularly useful context to develop an identity-representative treatment. Indeed, sexual and gender minorities are more likely to receive a BPD diagnosis (Eubanks-Carter & Goldfried, 2006; Rodriguez-Seijas et al., 2020). Further, features of BPD may present differently across races such that African Americans experience more intense emotions and emotion dysregulation, fewer self-harming behaviors, and more thoughts of interpersonal aggression compared to White individuals (Newhill et al., 2009). The fact that individuals of minority status may be diagnosed with BPD more frequently, and manifest symptoms of this condition differently, underscores the need to create representative, inclusive treatments for this disorder. BPD Compass is a novel, short-term treatment for borderline personality disorder. BPD Compass is delivered across 18 weekly sessions, consists of four skill domains (i.e., values, cognitive flexibility, behavioral skills, and mindfulness), and includes elements designed to target the three personality dimensions relevant to BPD (i.e., negative affectivity, antagonism, and disinhibition). Participants (n = 21, 71.4% female, 85.7% white, 52.4% straight/heterosexual) who completed treatment with BPD Compass (Sauer-Zavala et al., 2022 provided qualitative data of their impressions of treatment and completed a one-on-one interview assessing patient perceptions of the treatment. Patients were highly satisfied with the treatment and found the values work to be a very important aspect of treatment. For example, one participant stated, “Starting with my values and who I want to be as a person really helped me highlight and pinpoint exact issues that I can display.” Another reported that “…with alternative thoughts and looking at my emotions non-judgmentally, there has been a lot less suffering in my life.” These are preliminary findings as data collection is ongoing; however, we anticipate to complete recruitment in the next four months as recruitment for the parent trial is complete. We plan to have qualitative and quantitative data assessing patient perceptions of treatment, particularly those related to identity, analyzed by the end of September. This data will include quantitative data on identity distress, gender minority stress, sexual orientation minority stress, and treatment acceptability. Additionally, we will have qualitative data analyzed for common themes surrounding treatment acceptability and adaptability.