Abstract

Complex emotional needs is an emerging term to refer to individuals who may historically be given a diagnosis of personality disorder. Personality disorder is a mental health diagnosis characterised by high levels of mental distress. Individuals with personality disorder often have high utilisation rates of health services, it is therefore important that services are designed to be both clinically and cost effective. Prior research shows that the views and experiences of mental health service users are valuable in designing effective services which are optimised to meet their needs. Sheridan Rains et al., (2021) conducted a qualitative systematic review which aimed to synthesise service user views and experiences of community mental health services for individuals with complex emotional needs, such as those with personality disorder. This commentary aims to summarise and critically appraise the systematic review and discuss implications of the findings for mental health practitioners working with this service user group.