Interpersonal neurobiology and borderline personality disorder: Siegel's nine domains of integration as markers of mental health

Despite decades of extensive efforts to conceptualize and research borderline personality disorder, it remains one of the most difficult psychiatric disorders to understand and treat. The field of Interpersonal Neurobiology offers a holistic and consilient approach to understanding human experience that focuses on interconnectedness among three interrelated and irreducible elements, the mind, the brain, and relationships. Additionally, the concept of integration as a marker of mental health has been developed by Siegel (2001, 2002, 2006, 2007, 2010, 2012a, 2012b) as an alternative to a reductionistic symptom-based approach to understanding human suffering. Specifically, Siegel (2001, 2002, 2006, 2007, 2010, 2012a, 2012b) developed nine domains of integration through which human experience may be best captured. This paper attempts to utilize Siegel's nine domains of integration to offer an Interpersonal Neurobiology approach to understanding borderline personality disorder. Recent borderline personality disorder empirical studies and theoretical work are examined within these nine domains, and critiques and directions for future study are provided.