Katharina T E Morken1,2, Per Einar Binder2, Nina Arefjord3, Sigmund Karterud4. 1. a MBT Team , The Bergen Clinic Foundation , Bergen , Norway. 2. c Institute for Clinical Psychology , University of Bergen , Bergen , Norway. 3. b Competence Centre on Drug and Alcohol , The Bergen Clinic Foundation , Bergen , Norway. 4. d Oslo University Hospital , University of Oslo , Oslo , Norway.
Abstract
OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to explore the experience of central psychological change processes for female patients with borderline symptomology and substance use disorder in mentalization-based treatment. METHOD: Semi-structured qualitative interviews on experiences from mentalization-based treatment with 13 participants were conducted. The interview material was analysed within a hermeneutical-phenomenological epistemology, with emphasis on researcher reflexivity. RESULTS: The following themes regarding central psychological change processes were found: "by feeling the feeling," "by thinking things through," "by walking in your shoes to see myself" and "by stepping outside of own bad feelings in seeing you." Two of these themes dealt with intra-psychic modes of how to relate to own mind-states. First, they had a shift from avoiding emotions into tolerating emotions. Second, they discovered the ability to think mental states through. Two themes dealt with mental stances for dealing with interpersonal situations, where one mode included a self-reflective stance in difficult encounters, and the other mode entailed an empathic reflective stance by exploring others' intentionality. CONCLUSIONS: The findings are in line with theoretical assumptions that increasing mentalizing capacity is a central change process for these patients. Furthermore, the findings demonstrate the complex interaction between different modes of mentalizing. Clinical or methodological significance of this article: The article explores change processes in manualized psychotherapy for patients with comorbid borderline personality disorder and substance use disorder, a focus which is not researched in the clinical literature. We claim that putting attention to this patient group and investigating their potential in psychotherapy is of clinical significance. Methodologically, this article utilizes thematic analyses within an epistemology following a specific procedure that is step based and transparent, thus it is of interest for qualitative researchers who also utilize thematic analyses.
OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to explore the experience of central psychological change processes for female patients with borderline symptomology and substance use disorder in mentalization-based treatment. METHOD: Semi-structured qualitative interviews on experiences from mentalization-based treatment with 13 participants were conducted. The interview material was analysed within a hermeneutical-phenomenological epistemology, with emphasis on researcher reflexivity. RESULTS: The following themes regarding central psychological change processes were found: "by feeling the feeling," "by thinking things through," "by walking in your shoes to see myself" and "by stepping outside of own bad feelings in seeing you." Two of these themes dealt with intra-psychic modes of how to relate to own mind-states. First, they had a shift from avoiding emotions into tolerating emotions. Second, they discovered the ability to think mental states through. Two themes dealt with mental stances for dealing with interpersonal situations, where one mode included a self-reflective stance in difficult encounters, and the other mode entailed an empathic reflective stance by exploring others' intentionality. CONCLUSIONS: The findings are in line with theoretical assumptions that increasing mentalizing capacity is a central change process for these patients. Furthermore, the findings demonstrate the complex interaction between different modes of mentalizing. Clinical or methodological significance of this article: The article explores change processes in manualized psychotherapy for patients with comorbid borderline personality disorder and substance use disorder, a focus which is not researched in the clinical literature. We claim that putting attention to this patient group and investigating their potential in psychotherapy is of clinical significance. Methodologically, this article utilizes thematic analyses within an epistemology following a specific procedure that is step based and transparent, thus it is of interest for qualitative researchers who also utilize thematic analyses.
Entities:
Keywords:
abuso de substâncias; abuso di sostanze; disturbi della personalità; metodi di ricerca qualitativi; métodos de pesquisa qualitativa; personality disorders; pesquisa de processo; process research; psychoanalytic/psychodynamic therapy; qualitative research methods; ricerca di processo; substance abuse; terapia psicanalítica / psicodinâmica; terapia psicoanalitica / psicodinamica; transtornos de personalidade; 人格障礙症; 心理分析／心理動力治療; 歷程研究; 物質濫用; 質性研究方法