ArticlePilot and feasibility studies2025
Feasibility randomised controlled trial of a brief psychological intervention for adolescents with borderline personality disorder symptoms delivered with schools and colleges.
Article in Pilot and feasibility studies, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
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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
1 citing paper in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Efficacy of psychological interventions for adolescents with borderline personality disorder: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2026Pooled it
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
11 authors.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundThere is an urgent need for accessible interventions to facilitate early intervention for young people with borderline personality disorder (BPD) symptoms. Existing evidence-based interventions for adolescent BPD are highly resource-intensive, and few young people with BPD symptoms have access to timely treatment. We adapted a brief psychological treatment for adolescent BPD symptoms previously provided within secondary mental health services for delivery within schools and colleges. This study aimed to assess the feasibility of evaluating the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of this intervention (BEST (brief education support treatment)) in a future randomised controlled trial (RCT).
methodsThe feasibility RCT involved 12 schools and colleges. Eligible participants were aged 13-18 years and self-reported BPD symptoms above a clinical threshold and a history of repeated self-harm. Over 9 months, 32 participants were randomised to receive either the BEST intervention plus treatment as usual (TAU) or TAU alone. Participants were assessed at baseline and 12 and 24 weeks. A mixed-methods process evaluation was conducted.
resultsRecruitment was slower than anticipated, but participant retention was high (89.5% at 12 weeks and 73.7% at 24 weeks). Performance of all outcome measures was satisfactory. Fidelity of intervention delivery was high (93.5% adherent), and we did not identify any evidence of contamination of the control arm. The intervention was perceived by staff and young people as beneficial to participants, practitioners and the wider school/college and therefore highly acceptable. LIMITATIONS: The study was disrupted by the closure of schools and colleges in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. This reduced the window for participant recruitment and limited data collection.
conclusionsThe intervention was delivered successfully within schools and colleges and was acceptable to staff and young people. The findings provide support for continuing this programme of research and should inform the design of a future evaluation of intervention outcomes. TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER: ISRCTN16862589.
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