Personality disorders: illegitimate subject positions.

Area of Science:

• Psychiatry
• Mental Health Nursing

Background:

• The diagnosis of personality disorder is prevalent in mental health nursing settings.
• The term 'personality disorder' is frequently used without critical examination and carries pejorative connotations in clinical practice.
• These behaviors are often constructed as behavioral rather than psychiatric, leading to stigmatization.

Purpose of the Study:

• To critically analyze the diagnosis of personality disorder within mental health nursing.
• To explore the discursive construction of personality disorder categories in clinical practice.
• To propose a more legitimizing approach to mental health nursing care for individuals with psychiatric diagnoses.

Main Methods:

• Critical analysis of the diagnosis of personality disorder.
• Examination of the discursive construction of personality disorder categories.
• Review of current mental health nursing practices.

Main Results:

• The diagnosis of personality disorder is often used uncritically and carries stigmatizing, pejorative connotations.
• The construction of personality disorders as illegitimate is naturalized within clinical practice culture.
• Current diagnostic practices may delegitimize individuals receiving psychiatric diagnoses.

Conclusions:

• A critical analysis reveals issues with the current diagnostic and clinical approach to personality disorders.
• Mental health nursing care needs to move towards more legitimizing practices.
• Adopting a more validating approach can improve care for individuals diagnosed with personality disorders.