"Family Connections": a Program for Relatives of People With Borderline Personality Disorder

Efficacy of "Family Connections", a Program for Relatives of People With Borderline Personality Disorder in Spanish Population: A Study Protocol for a Randomized Control Trial

The aim of this study is to validate an intervention for relatives of people with borderline personality disorder in Spanish population in a randomized control trial.

Family members of patients with borderline personality disorder (BPD) often experience high levels of suffering, anxiety, stress, burden and helplessness. The treatment program with the most empirical support is "Family Connections". It is one of the first programs specifically designed to help relatives of patients with BPD. The program is an adaptation of multiple strategies of Dialectical Behavioral Therapy. It consists of 12 sessions with an approximate duration of two hours each. The results of these studies and their subsequent replications showed an improvement in family attitudes and perceived burden. The investigators have translated and adapted the program so that it could be applied to the Spanish population. The aim of the present study is to evaluate the effectiveness of the adaptation of "Family connections" in Spanish population through a controlled clinical trial. The first hypothesis of the study is that "Family Connections" will be more effective (significant reduction in the primary outcome variables), compared with a Treatment As Usual (TAU), in the posttest time and in the follow-ups of 3 and 6 months. In addition, a second hypothesis is that "Family Connections" will be more efficient (fewer abandonments, better opinion on the part of the patients) than TAU.

Inclusion Criteria:

• Aged 18 years or older.
• Having a relative with DSM-5 diagnosis of Personality Disorder
• Understand spoken and written Spanish.
• Grant informed consent.

Exclusion Criteria:

• Diagnosis of severe mental disorder.
• Presence of medical illness that may interfere with psychological treatment.
• Suicide risk.