Systemic Discrimination of Borderline Personality Disorder
A Call for Institutional Change
Borderline Personality Disorder clients have traditionally been the shut outs of mental health. The death of Regis Korchinski-Paquet underscores the need for reform in mental health policing. However, this crisis reaches even deeper, and systemic change is necessary. Individuals and mental health/addiction programs, policies, and services need to examine systemic discrimination against mental health clients within their institutions, thus preventing the need for reactive mental health policing. This article focuses on the stigmatization of individuals with Borderline Personality Disorder(BPD).
The underlying belief precipitating this stigmatization is the perception BPD is a personality disorder, and personalities don’t change. Persons with BPD continue to be viewed as manipulative, attention-seeking, and treatment-resistant. This stigma creates systemic barriers in clients obtaining services (Veysay, 2014), adding another layer of discrimination for minorities.
Clients continue to be denied admission into mental health and addiction programs based on their diagnosis of BPD.
It can be challenging to find resources for persons with BPD, and mental health professionals in various systems stigmatize persons with BPD…
