Evaluating co-production in an interactive webinar series concerning borderline personality disorder: a discourse and content analysis

Abstract

Purpose This paper aims to evaluate the quality of co-production between lived experience practitioners (LXPs) and professionals in an interactive National Health Service webinar series aimed at supporting people who were diagnosed or identified with borderline personality disorder. Design/methodology/approach Transcripts from the webinars were subjected to mixed-method examination combining Foucauldian discourse analysis (FDA) and content analysis (CA). Findings FDA identified nine discursive objects: diagnosis beyond its medical context, diagnosis as a total explanation, being the other, universality, compassion, hope, faking it, mentalisation and co-production. CA demonstrated those nine discursive objects each corresponded with equalised airtime appropriated by professionals and lived experience practitioners. Research limitations/implications The sample was limited and if applied to other mental health settings might reveal different findings. More needs to be understood about the attitudes of professionals and LXPs that support discourse sharing. Although this study has offered evidence of the quality of co-production, it can say very little about whether the co-productive approach offers superior outcomes to other forms of treatment. Practical implications Further research could employ FDA and CA to further explore how co-production is being enacted in other situations, with different models, where comparable interventions are delivered. Future research could compare outcomes between co-productive and professional-only interventions. Originality/value This study examined naturalistic practice to build new theory in an under-researched area for a substantial mental health population.