Religious constructs of three women with borderline personality organization

The purpose of this exploratory study was to determine if three people with the diagnosis of Borderline Personality Disorder (BPO) viewed religion in characteristic and unique ways. I analyzed this data using Object Relations Theory. I concluded that the participants shared a faith-style that resulted from an early developmental failure. First, their image of God and the moral universe was a re-enactment of the dysfunctional mother/infant dyad. Secondly, the developmental impasse caused a characteristic kind of damage to the person's intrapsychic structures and processes. These two dynamics interacted to inform and reinforce one another, creating strong and distinctive religious constructs. In the second section, I analyzed the data utilizing the theological anthropology of Paul Tillich. I theorized that BPO is a psychological rather than a spiritual dilemma and that BPO is a "tragic" condition, in that the person is configured in such a way as to significantly hamper spiritual fulfillment. Finally, I made provisional recommendations for pastoral care within the Christian paradigm.