The different shades of borderline personality disorder: a study based on the thematic apperception test

BACKGROUND: Borderline personality disorder is a complex clinical picture in which various clinical manifestations are interwoven. Its narrative style is characterized by a tendency toward borderline lability as an expression of an unstable identity, as well as by massive objective discontinuity and great difficulty in accessing ambivalence. The aim of this study was to better understand borderline personality disorder using one of the most used projective tests in clinical and research settings, the thematic apperception test (TAT).METHODS: An attempt was made to examine the phenomenology of this disorder using the TAT. The work was based on the analysis of 10 TAT protocols of individuals diagnosed with borderline personality disorder. The tests were administered and interpreted following the French School theoretical model: Based on the content of the stories told in each table, psychological processes and defense mechanisms are examined. The stories provided information about the way the subject approaches reality and accesses his or her inner world.RESULTS: The study confirmed a borderline working style characterized by a tendency to avoid conflict and an overinvestment in external reality associated with gestural and physical expressions. In addition, it showed the presence of two approaches of borderline individuals: a more inhibited approach and a more expansive approach.CONCLUSIONS: This study shows that TAT is a good tool for identifying thought processes indicative of a borderline personality, but also reveals the particular facets and types that are useful for clinical and therapeutic considerations.