| Abstract: | Discusses different points of view concerning the psychotherapy relationship with borderline personality disorders from the standpoint of their possible effects on the process and outcome of psychotherapy. The following major positions are reviewed: (a) traditional psychoanalytic position of technical neutrality, (b) reality relationship in which the therapist shares thoughts and feelings with patients, and (c) establishment of a relationship to facilitate gratification of primitive developmental phases. It is proposed that the major position that theorists take in the psychotherapy relationship with borderline personality disorders, especially their handling of the developmental arrest and transference–countertransference issues, differentially affects the patients' personality structure within the context of separation–individuation. A case vignette of a 15-yr-old male is used to demonstrate this point. (26 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved) |
