Table 2.

Summary of key features of Psychological Support for Personality (PSP) compared to other psychological interventions tested in clinical trials

Feature of the intervention	Psychological Support for Personality	Web-based psychoeducation [20]	Manual assisted cognitive therapy [19]	Mentalization Based Treatment [30, 31]	Dialectical Behaviour Therapy [28, 29]
Target group	Adults with personality disorder	Women with borderline personality disorder	Adults with borderline personality disorder who self-harm	Adults with borderline personality disorder	Adults with borderline personality disorder
Mode(s) of delivery	Individual sessions plus telephone support	Access to web-based psychoeducation	Individual sessions plus booklet	Group and individual sessions plus telephone support	Group and individual sessions plus telephone support
Content of sessions	Information on personality, personality disorder, validation and acceptance. Tailored psychological support aimed at promoting metalizing and distress tolerance	Information about borderline personality, disorder and role of psychological and pharmacological treatments	Strategies for emotional regulation, problem-solving, management of negative thinking and substance misuse	Methods for promoting mentalizing and improving a person’s mental health and interpersonal functioning	Behavioural skills coaching in areas including mindfulness, emotion regulation and distress tolerance
Delivered by	Clinical staff who are experienced in working with people with personality disorder and receive regular supervision	Content of website developed by clinicians with expertise in borderline personality disorder	Clinical staff who have received a three-day and receive regular supervision	Clinical staff who have received a minimum of three days training and receive regular supervision	Mental health professionals who have been trained to deliver DBT and receive regular supervision
Frequency of sessions	Flexible (usually once a week or one a fortnight)	Service users able to access website whenever they choose	Weekly sessions	Weekly individual sessions and weekly groups	Weekly individual sessions and weekly groups. Telephone consultations as required.
Length of sessions	45 to 60 minutes	Determined by the service user	30 to 60 minutes	Groups last 75 to 90 minutes	60 minute individual sessions 150 minute groups
Length of treatment	Flexible (three to six months)	Determined by the service user	Six weeks	18 months	12 to 18 months
Total number of sessions	Six to ten sessions	Determined by the service user	Six sessions	100 to 150 sessions*	100 sessions*

*Exact number and length of sessions varies in clinical practice. These data are from publications of randomised trials of the interventions