Facing the Void

Therapy based on adventure experiences for people with Borderline Personality Disorder

“Facing the Void” is a therapeutic program based on adventure experiences designed for people with Borderline Personality Disorder.  

The program uses the tools developed within the “Therapy through Adventure” project, which proposes the prescriptive use of adventure experiences in natural environments and provided by mental health professionals, with the aim of kinesthetically and experientially involving participants at a cognitive, affective and behavioral level. The results have shown that these programs are effective in achieving short-term changes, but that they are also maintained in the long term, in psychological, behavioral, emotional and interpersonal aspects.  

In the case of “Facing the Void”, the program consists of 14 therapeutic sessions carried out in natural environments and with a maximum of 10 participants. The sessions, carried out in different environments (e.g. climbing wall, hiking, via ferrata…), are carried out jointly by an Occupational Therapist, a psychiatrist and a psychologist. The results have shown an improvement in physical health and quality of life in the short term in people suffering from Borderline Personality Disorder; and the long-term benefits are being studied. 

Project PI: Iolanda Batalla Llordes

Group PI: María Mur Laín

Research Group: Biological Foundations of Mental Disorders

Institution : Biomedical Research Institute of Lleida (IRBLleida) 

Group website here.   

For more information  contact us .