Peer-reviewed article
Experiences of mothers with borderline personality disorder following an intervention to support mother‐infant relationships: “more tools in my toolbox”
Jade Pryor, Alyssa C. P. Sawyer, Clemence Due, Sally Watson, Anne Sved Williams ·
Summary
Written by AI, not yet AICS's view · claude-sonnet-5-5This qualitative study asked eight Australian mothers with borderline personality disorder about their experiences of a therapy program called MI-DBT+. The program combines mother-infant dialectical behavior therapy with attachment and biobehavioral catch-up therapy, and aims to support mother-infant relationships. After the program, mothers said they had learned skills to understand their infants' needs, behaviors and emotions. They also described better reflective functioning and better control of their emotional responses. The authors discuss how well the two therapies fit together, longer-term developmental concerns and sustainability.
Key points
- Eight mothers took part in semi-structured interviews after completing the MI-DBT+ program.
- Mothers appreciated learning more skills to understand their infants' needs, behaviors and emotions.
- Mothers reported improved reflective functioning and better control of their emotional responses.
- The skills helped mothers manage emotional distress at both the individual and the mother-infant pair level.
- MI-DBT+ combines mother-infant dialectical behavior therapy (MI-DBT) with attachment and biobehavioral catch-up (ABC) therapy.
Limitations
The sample was very small (eight mothers) and relied on the mothers' own accounts, with no infant outcomes measured and no comparison group. Only maternal and child age were available as demographic data.
Abstract
Motherhood is inherently demanding, and some of these demands may be amplified for women with borderline personality disorder (BPD). The exacerbation of BPD symptoms from parenting-related stressors can have adverse impacts on mother-infant relationships and infant development. This qualitative study explores Australian mothers' views of the impacts of mother-infant dialectical therapy plus (MI-DBT+). MI-DBT+ is an innovative therapeutic intervention which integrates mother-infant dialectical behavior Therapy (MI-DBT), a known effective intervention for the mental health of mothers with BPD, with attachment and biobehavioral catch-up (ABC) therapy. Specifically, eight mothers completed semi-structured interviews about their experiences of intervention following completion of the MI-DBT+ program. A thematic analysis of this interview data found that mothers appreciated learning more skills to enhance their understanding of their infants' needs, behaviors and emotions. Mothers also reported improved reflective functioning and better control of their emotional responses. These skills assisted in managing emotional distress at both the individual and dyadic level. The study was limited due to available demographic data, with only maternal and child age available. Discussion also focuses on the fit between DBT and ABC, longer term developmental concerns and sustainability.
Findings the Hub has extracted
Each claim below is labelled by its type of design and links back to this report.
- Intervention
- Mother-infant dialectical therapy plus (MI-DBT+), which integrates mother-infant dialectical behavior therapy with attachment and biobehavioral catch-up (ABC) therapy.
- Population
- Eight Australian mothers with borderline personality disorder who had completed the MI-DBT+ program.
Key finding
Mothers said they learned more skills to understand their infants' needs, behaviors and emotions.
Pryor et al. · OpenAlex - Early Childhood · 5 Oct 2026