Psychiatr. praxi. 2022;23(2):72-77 | DOI: 10.36290/psy.2022.018

Borderline personality disorder and attachment

MUDr. Vlastimil Nesnídal^{1, 2, 3, 6}, prof. MUDr. Ján Praško Pavlov, CSc.¹, Mgr. Marie Ocisková, Ph.D.¹, MUDr. Jakub Vaněk¹, MUDr. Kamila Bělohradová Minaříková^{1, 4, 5}, Michaela Houdková¹, MUDr. František Hodný¹, MUDr. Jonáš Boček¹, MUDr. Kryštof Kantor

¹ Univerzita Palackého v Olomouci, Lékařská fakulta a Fakultní nemocnice Olomouc, Klinika psychiatrie

² Univerzita Konštantína Filozofa v Nitre, Fakulta sociálnych vied a zdravotnictva, Katedra psychologických vied, Slovensko

³ Katedra psychoterapie, IPVZ Praha

⁴ Krajská nemocnice Liberec, Centrum psychiatrie

⁵ Technická univerzita v Liberci, Fakulta Přírodovědně­‑humanitní a pedagogická, Katedra pedagogiky a psychologie

⁶ Jessenia, a.s. - Rehabilitační nemocnice Beroun, AKESO holding, Beroun

One of the essential factors that can significantly contribute to emotional regulation in adulthood is emotional attachment. Adverse childhood experiences with primary caregivers form a problematic basis for internal working models for subsequent relationships and develop maladaptive interpersonal relationships, characteristic of patients with a borderline personality disorder. Insecure individuals cannot identify and understand emotional states, leading to an increased risk of affective lability. This early experience plays an essential role in supplementing narrative abilities and building emotional understanding. It helps to understand own mental states correctly, talk about own emotions, and understand other people's emotions well. In the intimate relationships of individuals with borderline personality disorder, increased hostility and dependence are more common based on insecure attachment. Fear of separation and abandonment is common; they react to signs of disinterest or rejection by emotional instability, panic, anger, self-harm or impulsive actions. Borderline personality patients often develop a hostile relationship with their partner when they punish and need their partner. Attachment affects the speed and quality of the treatment. Individuals with a secure attachment will improve faster than individuals with an anxious attachment. This may be partly due to the possibility of establishing a more secure relationship with the therapist himself. Therapy provided to patients with borderline personality disorder should also consider the type of relationship that occurs in the patient, as this can guide the therapist to determine the correct approach to the patient.

Keywords: borderline personality disorder, attachment, psychotherapy, therapy, treatment.

Published: June 16, 2022  Show citation