Representations of ‘personality disorder’ Kirsten Stalker, Aileen Barclay and Iain Ferguson, Stirling University

Approaches to ‘personality disorder’ Psychiatric discourse Behavioural Childhood trauma Social model of madness + distress

Glasgow Study – aims + methods to explore users’ views re meaning of ‘personality disorder’ + the usefulness of this term to seek users’ accounts of the difficulties they experience to identify users’ views of what helps interviewed 10 users (+ 12 providers)

Understandings of PD most users had little or no idea some thought something fundamentally ‘wrong’ with them a few thought just another label one or two questioned aspects lack of information + explanation discovered diagnosis by chance

Usefulness of diagnosis half saw PD as a derogatory term label excluded people from support a few thought some diagnosis better than none

Type of difficulties Forming + maintaining relationships Poverty, domestic violence, homelessness, substance misuse Stigma and discrimination Coping with day to day activities

Causes of difficulties Almost all saw childhood abuse as major factor Experiences of loss

What helps? Wide range of coping strategies - going to mental health resource centre - talking to someone; keeping busy - martial arts; going to bed - medication; ‘keeping yourself to yourself’ - ‘fighting the illness’; drugs + alcohol - overdosing; cutting Almost all were positive re mental health services, but building trust was hard

Implications for a social model? ‘PD’ involved distress not illness significance of life events impact of social/ economic factors interaction of private/emotional and social/ structural dimensions social relational model – impairment effects, material barriers, + psycho- emotional disablism