Citation

Langer R. Psychiatry Psychol. Law. 2016; 23(1): 69-84.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2016, Australian and New Zealand Association of Psychiatry, Psychology, and Law, Publisher Informa - Taylor and Francis Group)

DOI

10.1080/13218719.2015.1032953

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

Legal, psychological, criminological, narrative and ideological representations of borderline personality disorder (BPD) are examined through 20 years of germane Canadian case law situated within the context of multidisciplinary scholarly and clinical literature on the themes of gender, mental disorder and culpability. These cases document the claim that the BPD diagnosis pathologizes women whose conduct represents adaptive responses to trauma, conflicts of selfhood and safety. A troubling sub-theme is identified in a cluster of cases where expert medical professionals are found culpable of predatory exploitation and re-victimization of patients seeking their therapeutic assistance. A third theme is the overrepresentation of BPD diagnoses in female forensic populations and the fusion of risk/need in correctional policies. It is argued that the legal deference shown to medical expertise validates BPD as a forensic category. Ultimately, the imposition of punitive corrective measures criminalizes, punishes and marginalizes this population in ways unlikely to rehabilitate and restore them to the normative order.

Language: en