SynthesisPloS one2021
Service user experiences of community services for complex emotional needs: A qualitative thematic synthesis.
Synthesis in PloS one, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 21 papers, 5 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
21 citing papers in PubMed, 5 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 59 citations in OpenAlex.
- Early interventions for first onset of symptoms of mental health conditions: an umbrella review of systematic reviews.BMC medicine · 2026Pooled it
- The prevalence and severity of loneliness and deficits in perceived social support among who have received a 'personality disorder' diagnosis or have relevant traits: a systematic review.BMC psychiatry · 2024Pooled it
- Crisis and acute mental health care for people who have been given a diagnosis of a 'personality disorder': a systematic review.BMC psychiatry · 2023Pooled it
- Effectiveness of outpatient and community treatments for people with a diagnosis of 'personality disorder': systematic review and meta-analysis.BMC psychiatry · 2023Pooled it
- Evaluation of international guidance for the community treatment of 'personality disorders': A systematic review.PloS one · 2023Pooled it
- Experiences of people with complex mental health difficulties accessing help from primary care services: a qualitative interview study.BMC primary care · 2026Article
- Turning to Service Users for the Understanding of Current and Future Mental Health Services in the Development Process of Research and Practice: A Qualitative Study.Health expectations : an international journal of public participation in health care and health policy · 2026Article
- Tackling neighborhood health inequalities in the UK through cross-sector collaborations and community engagement: thematic synthesis of focus group and questionnaire data.Frontiers in public health · 2026Article
- Complex mental health difficulties: a mixed-methods study in primary care.The British journal of general practice : the journal of the Royal College of General Practitioners · 2026Article
- Complex mental health difficulties in primary care: a scoping review with thematic synthesis.BJGP open · 2025Article
- Recovery in personality disorders: the development and preliminary testing of a novel natural language processing model to identify recovery in mental health electronic records.Frontiers in digital health · 2025Article
- Borderline personality disorder Athens study: a quasi-experimental pragmatic trial for the assessment of a public, psychodynamic, stepped care service for borderline personality disorder patients.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2025Article
- Mental health service use and costs associated with complex emotional needs and a diagnosis of personality disorder: analysis of routine data.BJPsych bulletin · 2024Article
- A scoping review of trauma informed approaches in acute, crisis, emergency, and residential mental health care.BMC psychiatry · 2023Article
- How do health care services help and hinder recovery after a suicide attempt? A qualitative analysis of Finnish service user perspectives.International journal of mental health systems · 2022Article
- Current state of the evidence on community treatments for people with complex emotional needs: a scoping review.BMC psychiatry · 2022Article
- Review
- The experience of loneliness among people with a "personality disorder" diagnosis or traits: a qualitative meta-synthesis.BMC psychiatry · 2022Article
- Clinician views on best practice community care for people with complex emotional needs and how it can be achieved: a qualitative study.BMC psychiatry · 2022Article
- Service user perspectives of community mental health services for people with complex emotional needs: a co-produced qualitative interview study.BMC psychiatry · 2022Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
14 authors at 3 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundThere is a recognised need to develop clear service models and pathways to provide high quality care in the community for people with complex emotional needs, who may have been given a "personality disorder" diagnosis. Services should be informed by the views of people with these experiences.
aimsTo identify and synthesise qualitative studies on service user experiences of community mental health care for Complex Emotional Needs.
methodsWe searched six bibliographic databases for papers published since 2003. We included peer reviewed studies reporting data on service user experiences and views about good care from community-based mental health services for adults with CEN, including generic mental health services and specialist "personality disorder" services. Studies using any qualitative method were included and thematic synthesis used to identify over-arching themes.
resultsForty-seven papers were included. Main themes were: 1) The need for a long-term perspective on treatment journeys; 2) The need for individualised and holistic care; 3) Large variations in accessibility and quality of mental health services; 4) The centrality of therapeutic relationships; 5) Impacts of 'personality disorder' diagnosis. Themes tended to recur across studies from different countries and years. DISCUSSION: Recurrent major themes included wanting support that is individualised and holistic, provides continuity over long journeys towards recovery, and that is delivered by empathetic and well-informed clinicians who are hopeful but realistic about the prospects of treatment. Care that met these simple and clearly stated priorities tended to be restricted to often limited periods of treatment by specialist "personality disorder" services: generic and primary care services were often reported as far from adequate. There is an urgent need to co-design and test strategies for improving long-term support and treatment care for people with "personality disorders" throughout the mental health care system.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.