Borderline personality disorder: from understanding ontological addiction to psychotherapeutic revolution.

Borderline personality disorder: from understanding ontological addiction to psychotherapeutic revolution. Eur Arch Psychiatry Clin Neurosci. 2019 Jun 04;: Authors: Ducasse D, Van Gordon W, Brand-Arpon V, Courtet P, Olié E Abstract Bypassing a reductionist view of existing diagnostic categories, ontological addiction theory (OAT) is a new psychological model of human functioning. Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD), defined as "a pattern of instability in interpersonal relationships, self-image and affects, and marked impulsivity", is not only common (up to 20% of psychiatric inpatients), but also strongly associated with suicide attempts and death by suicide. Therefore, BPD constitutes a major public health concern. As a consequence of an underlying condition of ontological addiction, self-harming behaviors can be conceptualized as addictions, suicidal acts reflecting an experiential avoidance strategy against unbearable psychological pain. The present paper aims at: (1) understanding BPD daily life experiences from the perspective of OAT; (2) offering psychotherapeutic perspectives for this mental disorder. The diagnostic category of BDP may be understood as a simple label reflecting several extreme types of manifestations resulting from the Self-grasping ignorance that underpins ontological addiction. Therefore, development of psychotherapeutic interventions targeting ontological addiction appears to be a promising future direc...
Source: European Archives of Psychiatry and Clinical Neuroscience - Category: Psychiatry Tags: Eur Arch Psychiatry Clin Neurosci Source Type: research