Responses of mental health clinicians to patients with borderline personality disorder

Abstract

Borderline personality disorder is a complex psychiatric syndrome that is characterized by a number of pathological interpersonal and behavioral symptoms. Because of these symptoms, individuals with borderline personality disorder tend to have difficulties in their relationships with others, including mental health clinicians. Through a literature review, we examined the perceptions and reactions of mental health clinicians toward patients with borderline personality disorder. Our findings indicate that psychiatric nurses are the most studied group of mental health clinicians in this regard, followed by samples of mixed mental health clinicians, and then psychologists. Interestingly, there is no study of psychiatrists only. While sample sizes have been generally small and methodologies have varied, the overwhelming majority of these studies indicate negative perceptions of and emotional responses toward patients with borderline personality disorder. Some researchers have interpreted such findings to suggest that mental health clinicians are more judgmental or prejudicial toward patients with borderline personality disorder, in contrast to other types of mental health patients. However, patients with borderline personality disorder have very complex interpersonal behaviors that tend to illicit negative responses from those around them. Perhaps these data simply reflect a very human reaction to the complex and pathological behaviors of these patients-a conclusion that is relevant to clinicians practicing in either mental health or primary care settings.

Keywords: Attitudes; borderline personality; borderline personality disorder; clinicians; mental health clinicians; nurses; reactions; responses; stigma.