Interpersonal Trust and Borderline Personality Disorder: Insights From Clinical Practice and Research: Introduction

Area of Science:

• Psychiatry
• Clinical Psychology
• Social Cognition

Background:

• Individuals with borderline personality disorder (BPD) exhibit profound difficulties with trust.
• These trust impairments manifest as pervasive distrust, vulnerability to negative therapeutic reactions, and oscillating interpersonal dynamics.
• Such challenges significantly impact social functioning and the therapeutic alliance in BPD treatment.

Purpose of the Study:

• To synthesize current research on trust processing deficits in BPD.
• To integrate empirical findings with clinical theories regarding trust in BPD.
• To establish a clinical science framework for understanding and treating trust impairments in BPD.

Main Methods:

• Compilation of five original research studies investigating trust processing in BPD.
• Inclusion of five theoretical articulations focusing on trust impairment as a treatment target and common factor in evidence-based BPD therapies.

Main Results:

• The Special Issue presents novel research on the social-cognitive underpinnings of trust issues in BPD.
• It details the role of trust impairment in established BPD treatments.
• Findings highlight trust as a crucial element in therapeutic interventions for BPD.

Conclusions:

• This collection advances an integrative framework for conceptualizing trust processing in BPD.
• It bridges the gap between basic research and clinical practice for BPD.
• The contributions offer a foundation for developing more effective interventions targeting trust deficits in BPD.