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Updated: Aug 16, 2026

Use of a Psychophysiological Script-driven Imagery Experiment to Study Trauma-related Dissociation in Borderline Personality Disorder
Published on: March 8, 2018
To tame a volcano: patients with borderline personality disorder and their perceptions of suffering
Kent-Inge Perseius1, Susanne Ekdahl, Marie Asberg
1Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Psychiatry Section, Psychiatry center, Karolinska Hospital, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden. kentingep@ltalmar.se
Abstract:
The aim of the study was to investigate life situations, suffering, and perceptions of encounter with psychiatric care among 10 patients with borderline personality disorder. The results are based on a hermeneutic interpretation of narrative interviews in addition to biographical material (diary excerpts and poems). The interpretation revealed three comprehensive theme areas: life on the edge , the struggle for health and dignity-a balance act on a slack wire over a volcano , and the good and the bad act of psychiatric care in the drama of suffering . These theme areas form a movement back and forth-from despair and unendurable suffering to struggle for health and dignity and a life worth living. Common beliefs regarding these patients among personnel and implications for psychiatric care are discussed in relation to the results.
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