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The question was submitted 15/11/2007

Subject: Diagnostic Criteria

I was wondering if you need to fit all the diagnostic criteria for an illness to have that illness? I ask as I've been looking at Borderline Personality Disorder and I fit most but not all of the criteria, and I was wondering if I should speak to my GP about this?

Answer from DepNet

The diagnostic criteria required for the diagnosis are listed separately for each disorder. In the case of the DSM-IV diagnostic criteria for Borderline Personality Disorder, five of the nine are required to make the diagnosis. Please note, however, that there are different systems for diagnostic criteria, and not everyone agrees with any one system. This is especially true in the case of diagnostic criteria for personality disorders. Just because an individual has three, rather than five, criteria does not mean that they would not benefit from treatment.

I would suggest contacting your GP about your concerns. In general terms, the diagnosis and treatment of borderline personality disorder is conducted by psychiatrists and other mental health specialists experienced in this field.

There is an excellent website about borderline personality disorder that I can recommend: BPDCentral (www.bpdcentral.com) which is written from the perspective of both individuals with borderline personality disorder and individuals living with people with this disorder.

Finally, you should note that the diagnosis of borderline personality disorder may carry a negative connotation amongst mental health practitioners, often to the point where clinicians are reluctant to provide patients with the diagnosis (even if that's what they think). That said, I think your approach, that is, reading about the condition and reflecting on your own symptoms, and asking straightforward and sensible questions about it, is a healthy approach to take.

The answer was published on DepNet 15/11/2007