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Borderline Personality Disorder and Posttraumatic Stress Disorder: Time for Integration?
Author(s) -
Hodges Shan
Publication year - 2003
Publication title -
journal of counseling and development
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.805
H-Index - 78
eISSN - 1556-6676
pISSN - 0748-9633
DOI - 10.1002/j.1556-6678.2003.tb00267.x
Subject(s) - borderline personality disorder , medical diagnosis , posttraumatic stress , context (archaeology) , psychiatry , psychology , clinical psychology , mental health , personality , psychiatric diagnosis , association (psychology) , personality disorders , psychotherapist , medicine , social psychology , cognition , paleontology , pathology , biology
The increasing prevalence of borderline personality disorder (BPD) and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) diagnoses among women illustrates problems and limitations of the medical model system (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, fourth edition; American Psychiatric Association, 1994). In particular, diagnoses of BPD continue the trend of overpathologizing women's issues and reinforcing a patriarchal system of diagnosis and treatment. A PTSD diagnosis, with similar criteria, is preferred for traumatized women because it portrays them in a more positive context. This article explores the overlapping relationship between BPD and PTSD and critiques how both are viewed within the mental health community. Previous research on BPD and PTSD is explored, as well as concerns and limitations regarding both diagnostic categories.