Olive Tree community treatment centre for individuals with personality disorder: Naturalistic service evaluation

Aims and method: Community treatment for individuals with personality disorder is a fast developing field.We report here on the effectiveness of one such approach.We examine the referral pathway of all clients between January 2005 and April 2008, including the mean days spent in our unit, the days spent in a psychiatric hospital before and after admission to our unit, and the results of changes in the rating scales we routinely use. Results: Drop-out rates and the mean duration of therapy were acceptable. There has been a clear reduction of in-patient bed use and a small but significant improvement of most psychometric test results. Clinical implications: This study provides further evidence for the effectiveness of community treatment for individuals with personality disorder. Declaration of interest: None.