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Controversy Associated with Personality and Paraphilic Disorders

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Controversy Associated with Personality and Paraphilic Disorders: BPD

The medical industry is seeing an increase in the incidence of personality disorders.

While the illnesses themselves are well understood, the concepts used to explain them are not. A

borderline personality disorder is one of several types of personality disorders and may be

understood in many different ways. Because of the negative connotations associated with this

illness and the professionals’ medical nihilism, even arriving at a diagnosis might be contentious

(Campbell et al., 2020). First, those who meet the criteria for a diagnosis of borderline

personality disorder should be considered for other disorders as well. To diagnose this illness, it

would be necessary to conduct a comprehensive evaluation of the patients in comparison to those

with conventional personality traits. It is also unclear which aspects of a person’s personality

should be assessed while dealing with someone who has a borderline personality disorder. In this

case, problems may arise due to significant disagreements between the assessors and the methods

employed to characterize the disorder. Thus, it is important to make sure that the way we

evaluate character traits is consistent with how we actually use them. There also seems to be a

great deal of variation in how the condition is recognized. The DSM 5 may have described a

widespread condition, but it does not seem to be uniform. There are red flags suggesting the

personality disorder is unstable and no credible accounts of it being a chronic social impairment

(McWilliams et al., 2018). The extent to which personality disorder severity may be assessed

remains unknown. If medical professionals want to help their patients recover from personality

disorders as quickly as possible, they must first understand the severity of the illness.

Professional Beliefs

According to professional opinions on the disorders, it might be challenging to establish

that an individual has borderline personality disorder since they are not given an accurate
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diagnosis and have their symptoms properly managed (Scott & Pilkonis, 2020). To have a

borderline personality disorder is to suffer from a complex mental illness that has an impact on

one’s relationships with others and oneself. Labeled by feelings of insecurity and emotional

volatility. People may suffer from BPD symptoms such as emotional instability and impulsive

behavior (Ellison et al., 2018). Rejection and isolation may trigger severe negative emotions and

behaviors in someone with Borderline personality disorder, including feelings of hopelessness,

despair, rage, and even suicidal ideation. Patients need to be properly assessed since these

symptoms are highly correlated with many other mental health conditions. After a thorough

evaluation, a treatment plan to stabilize the patient’s condition may be easily formulated (Scott &

Pilkonis, 2020). Unfortunately, the negative health outcomes for people with BPD are mostly

attributable to the widespread stigma and misinformation surrounding the disorder. In order to

get patients to agree on the best course of therapy, doctors need to have a thorough

understanding of the illness via methodical, clinical research and teamwork (Campbell et al.,

2020).

Strategies for Therapeutic Relationship

In order to better serve the client, it is important to gather as much information as

possible at the outset of the interaction. Making an effort to obtain further data from the client

would be beneficial in establishing some knowledge, which might potentially serve as the basis

for the diagnosis, and subsequently, the treatment. Also essential is keeping up the kind of

communication that gradually leads to an understanding of the subject at hand. Having a positive

interaction means not being judgmental or biased while evaluating or helping a client. Open-

ended questions are very helpful when interacting with people who have these disorders because

they give them a chance to speak without restriction. In fact, this is the only way to fully
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understand them. Some people show worrying symptoms over time, and it is important to take

their worries seriously should their treatment falter. Individuals with personality disorders should

always have access to as much community support as is practical. This helps people feel

empowered, which is crucial on the road to recovery.

Ethical and Legal Considerations

Suicidal thoughts might be quite prominent in certain persons with a borderline

personality disorder. Mental health doctors are split on whether or not to commit patients to

involuntary care. Psychiatrists in such a situation would need to weigh all of their options.

However, psychiatrists still have a heavy legal burden when they put their own safety ahead of

their patients rather than when they act in the patient’s best interests. A major ethical and legal

challenge in therapy would arise if patients with personality disorders were unable to provide

informed consent for treatment (Scott & Pilkonis, 2020).

At times when their services are most needed, such as when patients are suicidal, mental

health specialists may be readily available to meet patient needs. Suicidal people often need one-

on-one attention in the form of phone calls, although this may not be possible at all times

(McWilliams et al., 2018). Therefore, once doctors have such clients, they need to be ready to be

there most of the time to prevent the clients from hurting themselves. It may be challenging to

tell a client’s family that they have a personality disorder, both at the end of treatment and during

caregiving. Having family members involved is seen to be helpful, especially in terms of giving

the person the social support they need. In most cases, disclosure of a patient’s diagnosis to other

parties requires the patient’s express consent. Therefore, ethical questions may arise as to

whether the family should be involved if they are unable to provide approval (McWilliams et al.,

2018).
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References

Campbell, K., Clarke, K. A., Massey, D., & Lakeman, R. (2020). Borderline Personality

Disorder: To diagnose or not to diagnose? That is the question. International journal of

mental health nursing, 29(5), 972-981.

Ellison, W. D., Rosenstein, L. K., Morgan, T. A., & Zimmerman, M. (2018). Community and

clinical epidemiology of borderline personality disorder. Psychiatric Clinics, 41(4), 561-

573.

McWilliams, N., Grenyer, B. F., & Shedler, J. (2018). Personality in PDM-2: Controversial

issues. Psychoanalytic Psychology, 35(3), 299.

Scott, L. N., & Pilkonis, P. A. (2020). Further reflections on assessment, etiology, and treatment:

Commentary on borderline personality disorder.