Views from the “dustbin”: a phenomenological examination of the experiences of a borderline personality disorder diagnosis as a parent

Literature highlights negative attitudes among different health and social care professionals towards individuals diagnosed with borderline personality disorder (BPD). Negative attitudes and inconsistent interactions are implicated in poor outcomes, including: increased stigma, self-stigmatisation, disengagement from treatment, and malignant alienation, often contributing to increased incidence of symptomatology, self-harm, and suicidal ideations and behaviours. To date, efforts to understand the extent to which these attitudes are internalised by service users, from the perspective of service users, are marked by their paucity. Coupling this with research highlighting poor outcomes among the children of individuals diagnosed BPD, along with a noted child protection risk among this group, the present research aims to increase understanding from the perspective of BPD-diagnosed parents themselves. The empirical chapters of this thesis see a phenomenological approach; through an IPA interview study and a phenomenologically driven series of focus groups, to examine diagnosis, experiences of care and treatment, and parenting. Findings highlight experiences of negative attitudes and interactions with service providers exacerbating stigma and self-stigma, lack of understanding of the diagnosis and how it relates to the individual specifically representing a barrier to engagement and therefore treatment. Little specific information is provided about the parenting challenges and capacities representing a significant aspect of the experience of participants. These findings are discussed in relation to previous research, demonstrating inconsistency and iatrogenic interactions during the period of diagnosis and treatment, identifying further impact on parents and parenting. The process and utility of diagnosis is also examined with a proposed diagnostic trajectory model applied to this participant group.