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An experimental Investigation of the Impact of Personality Disorder Diagnosis on Clinicians: Can We See Past the Borderline?

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  25 August 2015

Danny C.K. Lam ,
Elena V. Poplavskaya ,
Paul M. Salkovskis ,
Lorna I. Hogg  and
Holly Panting
Danny C.K. Lam
Affiliation:
Kingston University, and St. George's Hospital Medical School, London, UK
Elena V. Poplavskaya
Affiliation:
South West London and St Georges NHS Trust, London, UK
Paul M. Salkovskis
Affiliation:
University of Bath, UK
Lorna I. Hogg*
Affiliation:
University of Bath, UK
Holly Panting
Affiliation:
University of Bath, UK
*
Reprint requests to Lorna Hogg, Department of Psychology, University of Bath, Claverton Down, Bath BA2 7AY, UK. E-mail: [email protected]
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Abstract

Background: There is concern that diagnostic labels for psychiatric disorders may invoke damaging stigma, stereotypes and misunderstanding. Aims: This study investigated clinicians’ reactions to diagnostic labelling by examining their positive and negative reactions to the label borderline personality disorder (BPD). Method: Mental health professionals (n = 265) viewed a videotape of a patient suffering from panic disorder and agoraphobia undergoing assessment. Prior to viewing the videotape, participants were randomly allocated to one of three conditions and were given the following information about the patient: (a) general background information; (b) additional descriptive information about behaviour corresponding to BPD; and (c) additional descriptive information about behaviour corresponding to BPD, but explicitly adding BPD as a possible comorbid diagnostic label. All participants were then asked to note things they had seen in the videotape that made them feel optimistic or pessimistic about treatment outcome. Results: Participants in the group that were explicitly informed that the patient had a BPD diagnostic label reported significantly fewer reasons to be optimistic than the other two groups. Conclusions: Diagnostic labels may negatively impact on clinicians’ judgments and perceptions of individuals and therefore clinicians should think carefully about whether, and how, they use diagnoses and efforts should be made to destigmatize diagnostic terms.

Keywords

Borderline personality disorderpanic disorderdiagnosis
Type
Research Article
Information
Behavioural and Cognitive Psychotherapy , Volume 44 , Issue 3 , May 2016 , pp. 361 - 373
Copyright
Copyright © British Association for Behavioural and Cognitive Psychotherapies 2015 

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