CONICET | Buscador de Institutos y Recursos Humanos

Aims: Psychotherapists manifest diverging emotional and cognitive reactions to different types of pathologies, such as Borderline Personality Disorders (BPD) and Major Depression (MD). BPD clients are one of the most stigmatized patient groups within the mental health system. There is a marked difference between the effects of psychotherapy for BPD and depression, with treatments proving less effective in the former condition. The aim of this study is to examine the emotional reactions and the clinical performance of psychotherapists towards clients diagnosed with major depression (MD) vs. borderline personality disorders (BPD).Methods: A semi-structured interview was conducted with 44 clinical psychologists from Argentina with different theoretical orientations that treated at least one patient diagnosed with BPD and one with MD during the last year. They were asked to think of a patient with each disorder and answer about the sensations that they experience when working with them. To analyze the materials of these interviews, we used the Consensual Qualitative Research, creating domains, core ideas, and qualitative categories. Results: Psychologists express more feelings of fatigue and boredom when treating clients with MD than when assisting BPD clients; but they express feelings of emotional regulation (increased heart rate) with BPD clients. Also, in BPD condition therapists use more technical interventions in first session than MD clients. Discussion: Looking at the importance of the therapist-client bond in the prediction of therapeutic results, some of these differential effects might be explained by the different emotional responses that BPD patients tend to incite in the therapists.