Trying to make sense of the chaos: Clinical psychologists' experiences and perceptions of clients with borderline personality disorder'

Humera Millar*, David Gillanders, Jannat Saleem

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract / Description of output

Background Evidence of negative perceptions of clients with borderline personality disorder (BPD) in mental health professionals has been well documented. However, few researchers have focused upon perspectives of clinical psychologists on this client group. The aim of the present research was to explore clinical psychologists' experiences and perceptions of clients with BPD. Method Sixteen female clinical psychologists (including trainees and qualified staff) participated in focus groups, 12 of whom had direct clinical experience with this client group. All four groups' audio recordings were transcribed verbatim and analysed using interpretative phenomenological analysis (Smith, 1996). Results The following eight superordinate themes emerged from the analysis: negative perceptions of the client, undesirable feelings in the psychologist, positive perceptions of the client, desirable feelings in the psychologist, awareness of negativity, trying to make sense of the chaos, working in contrast to the system and improving our role. Discussion Implications include concerns regarding negativity, yet also the suggestion of hope and optimism in working with this client group. Copyright (C) 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)111-125
Number of pages15
JournalPersonality and Mental Health
Volume6
Issue number2
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - May 2012

Keywords / Materials (for Non-textual outputs)

  • PATIENT
  • TRIAL
  • STAFF
  • THERAPY
  • ATTACHMENT

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