Ontological insecurity: a guiding framework for borderline personality disorder

The purpose of this inquiry is to explore the experience of Borderline Personality Disorder with the aim of developing a more liberating approach to its diagnosis and treatment. Eight participants (seven females and one male) diagnosed with Borderline Personality Disorder were recruited from a psychiatric hospital operated by the Surrey and Borders NHS Trust and an outpatient daycentre based in London, United Kingdom. A narrative approach to methodology was employed to collect and analyse the participants' life-stories. Themes to emerge from the participant's narratives were found to coincide with R.D. Laing's concept of ontological insecurity. Ontological insecurity describes a number of aspects of the participant's distress. To conclude, some general implications of this research for psychotherapy are briefly explored.